


Divergence

by PhoenyxInAshes



Category: Glee, Glee RPF
Genre: Angst, Eating Disorders, Gen, Parallel Universes, Past Sexual Abuse, Self-Harm, none of this is very graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 02:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 41
Words: 46,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4162062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenyxInAshes/pseuds/PhoenyxInAshes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darren expected to wake up to a day off. Not an extremely messed up version of his television series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Darren woke up to the shrill sound of an alarm clock going off next to his ear.  _Why is my alarm going off? This is my one day off in ages….did I forget to turn it off last night?_  
  
“Would you please shut that thing off! It’s giving me a headache!” an exasperated voice sounded from across the room.   
  
Darren startled awake. As far as his sleep addled brain could remember, he had gone to sleep alone last night. There wasn’t any filming today, and he should still be asleep.  _And there definitely shouldn’t be anyone else in here with me._  Raising his head Darren peered in the direction of the voice. “Dominic?”  
  
The boy currently sitting up in the bed across from him looked at him blankly. “What? Blaine, are you awake? Who’s Dominic?”  
  
The more Darren became awake and aware, the more he was convinced he must still be asleep. He wasn’t in his room at home. He was currently in a bed in a room that looked suspiciously like a Dalton Academy dorm. And in the bed across the room, currently giving him a very worried look, was-  
  
“Trent?”  
  
The other boy looked relieved. “Blaine, I thought you had lost it for a minute there. We need to get up. We need to get breakfast before practice. I don’t want to sit through another lecture from Wes if we’re late.”  
  
Ok, so apparently he was still dreaming, Darren thought. That was the only explanation for this madness. Subtly, he reached over with one hand and pinched his arm with the other. Nothing happened. He pinched harder. Still nothing.  _Did they kidnap me in my sleep or something? This isn’t even a soundstage, it’s an actual room. If this is a joke or something, it’s an awfully elaborate one…_  Darren was starting to get uneasy.   
  
“Look, I’m impressed by all the detail you guys have put into this, but could you let me in on the joke now?”  
  
Dominic was looking confused. Again.  _He’s pulling this off really well. Maybe they should make him a regular. Actually, he can take over for me if they don’t tell me what the heck is going on soon!_    
  
“Look, Blaine,” Dominic’s voice had the tone usually reserved for people in crisis, or possibly frightened kittens. It was annoying Darren. He was beginning to wonder if maybe  _Dominic_  had lost it. “You’ve had a rough couple weeks. I think you just need to get up and get some food into you and let yourself readjust. If you’re worried about the Warbler’s, they all just want to support you. We’re here for you if you need us.”  
  
Yes, Dominic had clearly lost it. Darren wasn’t quite sure what to do now. But getting out of the room and back into reality would probably be a good start. Someone outside those doors could tell him exactly what was going on. So he nodded toward Dominic, climbed out of bed, and threw on the uniform sitting neatly folded on the chair next to the desk. “Lead the way,” he directed, deciding it would be best to stay behind Dominic and keep him in his eyesight.  
  
Dominic, also now wearing the Dalton blazer, smiled and opened the door. Out into the corridor. Of what was clearly the Dalton campus.   
  
Darren tried valiantly not to let his shock show on his face. Dalton wasn’t supposed to exist. Well, the building existed, but as an estate where Glee was allowed to film, not as a functional school. The hallway he just stepped into was clearly part of a fully functional school, currently filled with hundreds of boys wandering around in blue and red. So either the cast and crew of Glee had gone to absurd lengths on a prank designed to drive him crazy or scare him to death, or he had fallen into a parallel universe.   
  
Darren wasn’t sure which would be worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Dominic,  _or was it Trent now?_   kept shooting glances in Darren’s direction that were, quite frankly, making him rather uncomfortable. If forced to come up with a description for them, he would probably describe the smiles as _timid, hopeful_. Darren smiled tightly back at him and hoped to God that breakfast would bring him some answers.   
  
Entering the Dalton dining hall was another shock. Because sitting at a table in the corner were the Warblers. Or at least the ones that were known by name on the show. But…it was  _all of them_.  _At once_. Wes, David, Thad, Nick and Jeff. And  _Sebastian_. And  _Hunter_. And Trent still standing next to him. The continuation errors were making Darren’s head spin.  _How does that even work? Hunter can’t show up until Wes is long gone…why am I here? And where is Chris? I mean Kurt?_  
  
Darren’s mind was not equipped to deal with the impossibilities that kept being dropped in front of him. He needed time to regroup. And think. And possibly find the nearest psych ward and have himself committed.  _This is not possible…_  
  
“Guys…,” Darren’s voice came out shaky, “I’m not feeling that well this morning. I think I’m going to skip breakfast and just go back to the room until practice.” Darren needed out. Now.   
  
Trent looked crestfallen. “Blaine, please stay. It’s your first day back, and I know you feel overwhelmed, but please don’t shut us out again.”  
  
Wes looked up from his pancakes and said in a careful tone, “Blaine, you really need to sit and eat with us. We need to discuss some things before practice, and I would like to have the whole group here.” Darren suspected there was more to that statement than a simple desire to discuss song choices.  
  
Darren stood uncertainly, trying to come up with some way to get out of sitting down with them. He jumped when Trent suddenly appeared next to him holding two plates. He hadn’t even noticed the other boy leave. Darren sighed and sat down. The way the boys kept shooting concerned looks at him, he suspected if he tried to leave they would probably just follow. Trent’s relieved smile was so genuine that Darren couldn’t help smile back awkwardly at him.   
  
Wes leaned back in his chair and lightly tapped the table with a gavel. Darren stared. Well, there was one thing that was playing out according to Glee canon. Wes’ gavel obsession. Darren felt the absurd urge to giggle welling up inside him.  _It’s nerves…keep it together, Darren._    
  
Darren set his attention to the plate of pancakes in front of him. He was way too nervous to eat, his stomach was churning unhappily with anxiety, but he figured if he could just act like he was engrossed in his breakfast they would hopefully leave him alone enough so he could just sit and watch.  _And try to figure out what I’m dealing with…_  
  
Darren considered himself fairly level-headed and easygoing, normally. There wasn’t too much that upset him too greatly, he was pretty adept at rolling with whatever came his way. But this, this was pushing things about as far as they could go. Because he was slowly coming to the conclusion that this…may not be a prank. That somehow, he  _actually_  woke up this morning at  _Dalton Academy_. And Darren didn’t know what to  _do_ with that knowledge.   
  
“I should probably consider myself lucky,” he mumbled to himself. “I could have ended up in the middle of the Harry Potter Universe, fighting off Voldemort. Of course, then I could have just found a Hufflepuff and made them help me  _find_  my way home.” Darren felt the hysterical giggling rise again. He jumped out of his seat, interrupting a startled Wes, who had been going on about….something. Darren had stopped listening. “I’ve got to!….Um….Bathroom!” Darren gasped out, and all but bolted out of the room.   
  
Wes watched him go wearily, then turned to the rest of the Warblers. “He will get there, guys. Just give him time. Trent, you should probably go make sure he isn’t….,” Wes trailed off, and Trent nodded. “I’ll make sure he’s ok. We’ll meet you for practice in twenty minutes.”  
  
Wes nodded, and the rest of the Warblers filed out. Trent took off out the door in search of Blaine.


	3. Chapter 3

The moment Darren left the dining hall, he realized that he hadn’t been paying nearly enough attention when he followed Trent downstairs from that dorm room. It hadn’t really occurred to him that he might need to find his way back. He didn’t want to go  _back_ , he wanted to get  _out_. Out of this insanity that was trying to present itself as his life. Walking blindly down a hallway, he breathed a relieved sigh at a wooden door with a “Men’s Room” sign on it. Pushing into the bathroom, Darren was relieved to find it empty.   
  
Darren walked to the faucet and turning it on, splashed water on his face. Rubbing his eyes, he gazed into the mirror in front of him, searching for signs of  _Darren_  versus  _Blaine_  reflected back at him. Blaine’s still mostly gelled though clearly slept on hair was reflecting back on Darren’s clean cut face. Darren himself was beginning to wonder whether he was Darren having a breakdown and thinking he was in Dalton, or Blaine having a breakdown and thinking he was an actor in a TV show. It was disconcerting, to say the least. But Darren could clearly remember his whole life up until this morning. All  _26 years of it_. He remembered Chris, and Lea, and everyone. That wasn’t made up. And this current version of Dalton he was in wasn’t even entirely right. Sebastian and Hunter did not belong there with Wesley, David, and Thad.  _What grade was Blaine supposed to be in, anyway? That never even made sense between show seasons!_  
  
Darren was interrupted from his increasingly panicked thoughts by the sound of the door opening.  
  
Trent’s head cautiously peeked around the door. “Are you all right?” he asked.  
  
Darren didn’t have a clue how to answer.  _No, I’ve been dropped into a parallel universe, and I don’t know how to get home. And it’s not even the right parallel universe!_  Ironically, his inner fanboy was apparently more upset that Not!Dalton didn’t follow canon than the fact that he was currently stuck in Blaine Anderson’s life. Darren decided none of that was probably something he could tell Trent, however.  
  
“I’m fine. I think something I ate just didn’t agree with me.”  
  
Trent still looked uneasy. “Blaine, if you’re still having problems, you would tell me, right? After everything that happened, we just want to know things aren’t getting worse again.”  
  
Darren was totally lost.  _Ryan you idiot, why couldn’t you have given the Warblers more backstory? I don’t even know what Trent is talking about! Although this version of the Warblers doesn’t seem to match the TV version…but at least I would have a starting point! Are my parents even in the picture? I mean Blaine’s parents!…..oh, I don’t know what I mean!_  
  
Darren’s silence was making Trent visibly nervous. “Because if you need to talk to someone, I can get the school nurse. Or Jeff, if you would rather talk to a Warbler….”  
  
Well, Darren certainly wasn’t about to talk to the school nurse. She would probably call an ambulance after hearing about his paranoid delusions. And while he was curious what would make Trent pick  _Jeff_  out as the Warbler most qualified to talk to him about…whatever it was they seemed to think he needed to talk about, Darren didn’t want to talk about himself. If he was going to be stuck in Not!Dalton he wanted to know what there was to know about _it_. And this version of the Warblers. And possibly McKinley. _And where was Kurt?_ But he needed to _pull himself together._  
  
“I’m honestly Ok, Trent. I promise. I would tell you if I wasn’t. I just needed a minute.” Darren put on his best Blaine Anderson Puppy Dog Eyes look. Thankfully, it seemed to be enough for Trent.  
  
“Ok, but I mean it Blaine,  _talk to someone if you need to_.”   
  
Darren nodded encouragingly. “I will. We should get to practice, shouldn’t we?”  
  
Trent checked his watch. “We should. Come on, everyone will be waiting.”  
  
Darren followed Trent out the door. He kept better track of where they were headed. He needed to be able to find his way around the building. He needed to  _be_  Blaine so they didn’t get suspicious. But he couldn’t help wonder. They were  _already_  worried about Blaine before Darren showed up in his place and started acting weird.  _Why?_


	4. Chapter 4

Walking into the Choir Room, Darren was happy to find that it at least looked exactly the same as the set they used to film. He just hoped that if they decided to throw a song rehearsal at him, it would at least be one that he had done before. The hours of practice for filming and the Glee concert series had most of the Warbler’s setlist burned into his muscle memory. And from the sounds of it, Blaine had been absent for a least a little while. Hopefully that would account for any confusion on Darren’s part.  
  
The room was already full, Darren and Trent being the last two to arrive. Trent gave Wes a subtle nod to indicate things were Ok. Content that one of his singers wasn’t on the verge of an imminent meltdown, Wes began the meeting, banging his gavel on the Council’s table. Darren caught David and Thad rolling their eyes at each other over Wes’ head.   
  
“Ok, everyone, settle down. We need to discuss our plans for Sectionals, now that our whole team is back together,” Wes stated.   
  
 _Interesting_ , Darren thought.  _It’s only Sectionals? The school year can’t be very far along. Where are we in the show’s timeline?_  
  
David murmured something softly to Wes, who nodded. “The council recognizes Warbler David. You have a concern?”  
  
David nodded. “I’m not sure if we should make any final decisions on songs or solos until our potential final member is officially a part of the Warblers. He’s supposed to start Monday.”  
  
Thad agreed. “We know he can sing. We’ve seen the videos from his old school. There’s no doubt in my mind there is a place for him. And we could use an additional member. There is a vacancy from last year’s departing seniors which has yet to be filled.”  
  
Darren’s attention was drawn to the discussion. Was it possible they were discussing Kurt? What happened to the Teenage Dream sequence that led to Blaine befriending and ultimately helping Kurt? Had it already happened? Should this be something Blaine knew about?  
  
Wes’ next words answered the question of who they were talking about. “I agree with you. We should discuss what songs we believe would suit us all the best, but final solo decisions will wait until Kurt starts.”  
  
The word was out of Darren’s mouth before his brain even caught up. “Kurt?”  
  
Wes looked towards Darren. “Oh, Blaine, there have been some developments that occurred during your…absence. We have a new student who will be joining us soon. He had to leave his old school after some….difficulties. He was a member of their Glee Club, and I expect he will be a  _very_  valuable asset to us. He’s a  _countertenor_.”  
  
Sebastian piped up from the couch he was lounging on at the back of the room. “Easy, Killer. You don’t want your girlfriend to get jealous.”  
  
Wes shot him a disapproving glance. “Do you know how long it’s been since Dalton had a countertenor?”  
  
Sebastian looked thoughtful. “Well, I do wonder what he sounds like when he’s in the throes of-”  
  
“Sebastian!” Wes barked. “Could we please get down to business here?”  
  
On the couch opposite Sebastian, Hunter looked disgruntled. Although, that could have been because Sebastian was currently sprawled across the couch with his feet in Hunter’s lap. Hunter gave Sebastian a dirty look, removed the offending body parts from his lap none to gently, and turned his attention to the Council members. “There are only a few weeks left until Sectionals. At the very least we should have our song selections picked out.”  
  
Darren watched the proceedings with interest. Apparently the Council managed to maintain control in this universe when it’s three current core members were still in school when Sebastian and Hunter showed up.  _And what changed that made them show up now? And how did Kurt end up transferring to Dalton, even without Blaine’s influence? And where was Blaine? Did Kurt still sneak into the school to spy? And without Blaine to give him courage, how much worse did things get for Kurt before Dalton became an option?_


	5. Chapter 5

Darren was actually a little concerned with himself that he seemed to be taking the transition from looking at the people around him as actors playing roles, to accepting them as their characters quite so easily. But he had never been immersed in a role like this before. It was a lot easier to see only Wes, or Sebastian, or Hunter when they  _never broke character_. And there were no sets or lighting rigs or cameras around reminding everyone that this wasn’t real.  _It was real_. And intriguing, in a mind-blowing, terrifying sort of way. And the more he watched the other Warbler’s the more he realized one thing.  
  
They were also watching him. Though trying really hard not to be obvious about it. More than he would expect if Blaine had just come back from a vacation or something. But Trent’s earlier concern had Darren convinced that whatever had kept Blaine away from the Warbler’s wasn’t just some small, temporary issue. Wes kept giving him cautious looks. David and Thad both were repeatedly glancing his way more than at any other club member. Sebastian was unabashedly staring at him, but Darren suspected that was more Sebastian’s flirty personality carrying over than concern for Blaine. Darren really didn’t know what to do with  _that_.  _Was Blaine out? Can’t assume anything…What if there is a history there? What if they are involved? I’m straight. And 26! …Can’t worry about that right now. Deal with that if it comes up later…_  Nick and Jeff both looked… sympathetic, maybe? Jeff was the only one who seemed willing to look him in the eyes for any length of time though.  _Definitely should talk to him later…_  Trent still looked like he wasn’t quite sure if Blaine was as ok as Darren kept insisting he was.  
  
Hunter, however, was pretty much completely ignoring Darren. And everyone else. He had gotten off the couch and was pacing agitatedly up and down the room while the other boys shouted out song recommendations. Hunter reminded Darren of a spring coiled too tightly and ready to explode at the slightest provocation.  _Maybe the steroid usage plotline did make it’s way here in some form…_  
  
Wes stopped the meeting a half hour later. Several songs had been considered including Teenage Dream, Uptown Girls, Raise Your Glass, and Glad You Came. Darren had given up on trying to remember which songs went with which season. Not!Dalton didn’t seem to have any concern for release dates for songs. Wherever or whenever he was, all four years of Glee were converging on what appeared to be Glee Season Two’s Blaine meets Kurt plotline. Which was apparently also completely different. Darren’s head kind of hurt. And now, to add insult to injury, he was apparently expected in Calculus. The Warbler’s early morning meeting was apparently to be followed up by a full day of classes. Which, Darren, already long graduated from school, was not happy at all about.  _I better get out of here soon. I am not going through however many more years of schooling Blaine has left. And knowing Dalton history, I’m probably stuck in some weird flux in space/time and I’ll never graduate. They’ll just keep changing my age…_  
  
Six hours later Darren could confirm what he already knew. School sucked.


	6. Chapter 6

Darren didn’t think anything could make him as happy as the sound of that final bell ringing to announce class dismissal for the day. Darren walked out of the classroom to find Trent waiting for him. Trent grinned. “I bet you’re glad now that you returned to school on a Friday. That way you can ease back into things and have a nice long break for the weekend.”  
  
Darren felt a glimmer of hope. “It’s Friday? I don’t think I even really comprehended what day of the week it is. No more calculus? Oh, Thank God.”  
  
The smile Trent sent back was subdued. “Well, You’ve had a lot on your mind. It’s easy enough to get distracted.”  
  
Darren wanted to push,  _to know_ , but didn’t know how far to go without giving away his massive lack of memory. “It’s been…an adjustment, today,” he finally settled with, mirroring Trent’s own earlier words back at him.   
  
“I’m not surprised,” Trent replied. “Honestly, some of us were surprised you were back within three weeks. Not that we aren’t happy to see you, but we were under the impression it would be longer.”  
  
Well that was…not particularly helpful. Darren was beginning to think the cosmos was playing games with him.  _Getting information out of a group of teenage private school students should not be this difficult._ “Well…apparently someone thought it was long enough?”  _Let’s see where that get’s me…_  
  
Trent looked unhappy again. If anything, this constant look of fear, concern, or sadness on Trent’s face was enough to convince Darren there was something definitely wrong with  _this_  Dalton. Trent was supposed to be the group’s sunshine. Aside from the steroids plotline, Trent’s character was happy. The boy in front of him seemed troubled. Darren suspected that  _Blaine_  was the cause of the change. Because even TV Trent would be unhappy if his friends were unhappy. “It was your father, wasn’t it Blaine? That’s why you had to cut your stay short. You’ve told me he doesn’t like anything making his family look weak. I wish for once he would be more concerned with your well being than some stupid idea of what it’s going to look like to his colleagues!”  
  
Well, that shed some insight on the problem. Whatever Blaine was dealing with, the Warbler’s didn’t believe he was over it. They thought his father had forced him out of wherever he had been getting help and sent him back to Dalton prematurely. No wonder they were all so nervous around him.   
  
However, whatever Blaine’s issue was, Darren didn’t share it. Darren considered himself pretty well adjusted. And he was starting to wonder if maybe he was there for some purpose. Because why else would he suddenly fall into this crazy Not-Really-Dalton realm, particularly when  _Kurt’s_  arrival was imminent? Was he supposed to help Kurt? Save Kurt? This universe’s Blaine was apparently trying to deal with his own issues. Did some force of nature drop him here to keep  _both of them_  from self destructing? Was Klaine literally  _always_  endgame? Darren didn’t know, but it seemed as good a theory as any to go with. So for the time being, he was going to implement Operation Save Klaine, and hopefully get himself sent home as a reward when all was right with the universe again.  
  
Darren suspected maybe he should stop writing fanbased movie musicals. Apparently his whole life was becoming directed by the forces of fanfiction.


	7. Chapter 7

“Blaine?”  
  
And…Darren really had to stop zoning out every five minutes to have an internal monologue. It was making the other boys jittery. Darren snapped back to attention.  
“What’s up, Trent?”  
  
“We need to get to the practice room.”  
  
Darren wondered if he just fell into a time loop. “Didn’t we do that this morning?”  
  
Darren was getting another concerned look. He should start counting them in his head. “That was a meeting, Blaine. We need to actually rehearse?”  
  
Oh, Yeah, that made sense. What with Sectionals coming up, The Warbler’s would be practicing a lot. Darren needed to start thinking Blaine’s day through in his head. Darren nodded. “Well, come on then.” And was very proud of himself when he successfully led the way back to the room without getting lost.   
  
Darren arrived in the room to find the Council already seated at the table. Sebastian was again sprawled on a couch and greeted Blaine and Trent with a lazy wave in their direction. Hunter was glaring at his watch as if it was personally offending him and muttering something about “military school” and “personal responsibility” under his breath. Sebastian rolled his eyes at Hunter. “No one is late yet. It’s six minutes until rehearsals start. Relax. Come sit with me. If you’re determined to have something to be hot and bothered by, I can assist,” Sebastian smirked suggestively at Hunter, who shook his head and announced flatly, “Not even remotely bi-curious, Sebastian. We have been over this.”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “You’ll reconsider. One day you’ll realize we’re actually soulmates and you will declare your undying devotion to me. But by then it will be too late. I’ll be rich and famous and have Blaine by my side as my one and only, and you will regret what you missed out on.” Sebastian winked at Darren. Hunter snorted and went back to his muttering. Darren just shook his head.  
  
Apparently Sebastian’s preoccupation with sex was universal.  _Multiversal?_  
  
Darren was saved from having to come up with a response to that statement by the arrival of the last two group members rushing through the doors. Nick and Jeff swept into the room, collapsed in chairs next to each other, and then, completely oblivious to anyone else in the room, appeared to hold a conversation entirely through facial expressions and raised eyebrows. Darren was kind of impressed. No one else seemed to pay much attention.  
  
Out of all the Warbler’s, Nick and Jeff were the biggest mysteries to Darren. As TV show characters, they didn’t really have much time in the spotlight. Virtually nothing was known about their background. Darren couldn’t even remember for sure if either of them actually had a speaking role on the show or not. He knew Nick had at least taken lead on Uptown Girl when Blaine revisited Dalton in “The First Time” episode. Darren was also at least peripherally aware of the Glee fanfiction out there. He didn’t actually read it, he would never be able to read  _BlaineandKurt_  without seeing  _DarrenandChris_ , and that was just too awkward to contemplate. But he knew what it was like to have a love for a show or movie that went beyond just a casual viewing. And he knew Nick and Jeff meant a lot to a lot of fans.  _Niff_  meant a lot. And he still had Trent’s recommendation that he go to Jeff if he needed to talk. It made him wonder. Because the non-conversation going on between those two seemed…off. Tense.   
  
And after today’s rehearsal, there was a free weekend stretching ahead of Darren, who had to figure out what to do. Kurt wasn’t showing up until Monday, so he had time before Operation Klaine could take effect. Watching Nick’s strained face and Jeff’s obvious discomfort with whatever what going on, Darren decided as long as he was stuck here, he might as well try to be useful. These weren’t storybook characters anymore, they had taken on their own life. And knowing what Glee: the TV show could throw at it’s characters, he figured there was probably good reason for concern. _I don’t know what’s bothering you Jeff, but I want to help if I can…_


	8. Chapter 8

Rehearsal was not as bad a Darren had feared it would be. He could have cried with relief when Wes decided that they would try a few songs out to see how they sounded and listed off Glad You Came with Sebastian taking lead, Whistle with Hunter, and Misery with Blaine as their practice songs. Two of them he could at least hang back and sing backup on, and he knew Misery by heart. The irony actually turned out to be that Darren had to concentrate on not knowing  _too much_ , rather than  _too little_. Blaine had been absent for three weeks, and none of the songs had choreography yet. Darren had to fight the instinctive desire to follow the show’s version of the songs. Which was easier with Misery due to the fact that Kurt wasn’t there to sing at.  
  
By the time they were done, Darren was sweaty and out of breath, but at least no one was looking at him like he wasn’t acting quite right. It was strange having so many of the show’s lead singers all together at the same time. Somehow, it turned the Warbler’s into  _more_  of a cohesive unit. There wasn’t a clear frontrunner for the group because Sebastian and Hunter clearly had no problem keeping up with Blaine. It changed the dynamics somewhat. Darren was used to the television show featuring the Warbler’s through Kurt’s eyes, with Blaine as the obvious Lead. There was considerably less hero worship for  _any_  member here. But then, these were real people. They were bound to be more flawed than season two’s Dalton-Is-Heaven to McKinley’s hell version of the Warblers.  
  
Wes announced the finish of the day’s rehearsal and the gavel came back out to officiate the end. David and Thad’s eye rolls came back out too. Darren thought he heard something about “decorum” muttered quietly from Hunter’s direction.   
  
“Since several of you are going home one or both days over the weekend,” Wes stated, “we won’t have another practice until Monday. But please keep Sectionals in mind, and don’t forget to practice on your own time!”  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Darren saw Nick salute smartly in Wes’ direction. Jeff smirked.  _Well, at least there’s slightly less friction coming from those two._  
  
Darren stood awkwardly for a moment trying to decide what the best thing to do now was. Did he go back up to the dorm room? He did want to go through it and see if it gave him any ideas about what was going on with Blaine. He didn’t suppose he would be lucky enough to find a diary of Blaine’s deepest darkest thoughts, but he could dream, right? But if he went up there, Trent probably would too. And he couldn’t really snoop with Trent watching. He would probably find it weird to watch Blaine sort through his own stuff like he had never seen it before. Would Trent be there the whole weekend? And come to think of it, was  _he_  supposed to be there the whole weekend? Clearly Blaine boarded at Dalton, and if Trent’s conversation about Blaine’s father earlier was any indication, the man probably wouldn’t want anything out of the ordinary happening that could make the facade of a well adjusted family fall apart. Darren was going to assume Blaine was not expected at home, unless informed otherwise. Darren preferred it that way. He suspected he would not like the man. And 17 year old Blaine and 26 year old Darren would probably have very different reactions to Blaine’s parent’s neglect.  _Then again, maybe I’m supposed to yell at Blaine’s family. I’ve wanted to often enough just filming Blaine’s scenes for Glee…where they don’t seem to exist. Ever._  
  
Darren startled as a hand reached out and gently settled on his arm.  _Zoning again Darren…you need to watch that_. Turning, he found Jeff smiling nervously at him. “Nick and I were wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner? We’re going to eat in our room. We figured it might be quieter than the commotion in the dining hall.” Darren glanced toward Nick, who nodded towards him. There was, however, a strangely uneasy look on his face. Darren noticed the same look mirrored on several other faces. Wes and David looked uncomfortable. Trent and Hunter looked contemplative. Sebastian looked indifferent.  _Well, if I’m looking for answers, this seems like a good way to start…_  
  
Darren nodded at Jeff. “I would like that. Should we stop at the dining hall to get something and then go up?”  
  
Darren followed Jeff and Nick out the door. They never knew once the door closed behind them the room erupted in frantic whispers.


	9. Chapter 9

Darren walked into the room behind Nick and Jeff. It looked virtually identical to the one he woke up in that morning, except for the personal items laying strewn about. Darren sat down on the floor and leaned against one of the beds, placing his plate in front of him. Nick and Jeff both mirrored his movements. Darren picked up a couple carrot sticks and nibbled on them as he watched the two boys across from him. Nick stared at him for a minute, and then the tension in his shoulders noticeably lessoned as he let out a sigh. He and Jeff did that mindmeld thing for a minute, and Jeff finally asked, “So how are you really, Blaine?”  
_Confused. Oh, and Blaine’s unavailable for the moment. Can I take a message?_  
  
“I’m all right. As good as can be expected under the circumstances I guess,” Darren replied.  _Get Jeff talking…_  “How are you?” Darren nearly cringed at himself.  _Smooth._ That didn’t sound contrived or anything.  _I’m usually not this socially awkward._    
  
Jeff shrugged. “I’m Ok.” He shifted uneasily and twisted at his shirt sleeves, drawing them over his hands.  _He looks…vulnerable. Like he’s trying to hide._  
  
Nick, on the other hand, was again starting to look more and more like he was struggling to keep from blurting something he would regret out. Darren searched his face for what he was feeling.  _Exasperation? and….Fear?_    
  
Darren decided he was sick of the subtle approach. It was getting him nowhere. And Nick looked more than ready to blow with the slightest provocation. “Nick, out with it. I can tell you have something you want to say.”  
  
Nick turned his surprised gaze towards Darren.  _Too not-Blainelike?_   But apparently Nick was sick of the silence too. And Darren’s permission was more than enough to get him wound up.  
  
“Yes, Blaine, I do have something to say. You know you scared us to death, right? We have been trying to get you to talk to us for  _weeks_! And all we got was, don’t worry, I’m fine, you’re overreacting, stop checking up on me. But you obviously weren’t fine! You collapsed in front of all of us! And then disappeared! And we had to hear from the school that you wouldn’t be back for a while, because you had a  _family emergency_. Blaine, we all knew there was no family emergency! And we were all so worried and hurt that you hadn’t come to us. But I know you didn’t think you had a problem. I’m  _still_  not sure you know you have a problem. And so I could even overlook that! But  _then_  I find out about the little mutually self-destructive friendship you and Jeff have going on together. And then you left, and he just fell apart! And I was left picking up the pieces! And I didn’t even know anything was wrong!” Nick turned his anguished face towards Jeff.  _“Jeff, why didn’t you tell me what was wrong?”_


	10. Chapter 10

This was not at all how Darren had expected things to go. Not that he was that sure how things were  _going_  to go, but  _Nick_  being the one to break down wasn’t something he would have considered. Jeff looked stricken. “Nick, hey, it’s ok!  _I’m_  ok.  _We’re_  ok. Both of us. We’re both here, and we’re safe, ok?” Jeff pleaded with Nick.  
  
Nick shook his head. “You’re not ok! And I’m an  _idiot_! I never should have agreed to keep this a secret. I thought maybe with Blaine gone, you would be better. If the two of you weren’t feeding off each other, you could get better. But you didn’t! And now he’s  _back_!” And you’re just going to continue hurting yourselves. And each other! And I don’t know what to  _do_!“  
  
_That makes two of us Nick_ … Whatever Blaine and Jeff had gotten themselves into, Nick seemed to believe it was going to destroy them. He wasn’t sure what Blaine’s problem was, but he had an inkling what Jeff’s might be, if the way Nick was zeroing in on the constant nervous fidgeting Jeff was doing with his shirt sleeves was any indication.   
  
Darren himself didn’t have a lot of personal history with mental illness, or with self harm, which he suspected was what Jeff was hiding under those long sleeves. There were times when he had felt stressed, over tired, and even what he would consider depressed. But  _feeling_  depressed and suffering _from depression_  were two different things. Darren still woke up every day overwhelmed and thankful for the direction his life had taken him.  Even on days when he felt sad or down he still fully expected tomorrow would be a happier day. But even if he didn’t fully understand Blaine or Jeff’s mindset, he could comprehend where they were coming from. Working with the Trevor Project, as well as interacting with the fans left him with a deeper appreciation for just how much effort simply  _surviving_  was for some people. It made him sad.  
  
And that  _this_  Blaine would be suffering from some sort of disorder or illness wouldn’t really come as that much of a shock to him. He had his own personal head canon for  _his_ Blaine on Glee. And some of the things the writers had him do made him suspect they were setting Blaine up for some sort of emotional illness plot line that they had either eventually abandoned or just hadn’t been willing to admit to yet. Add in  _this_  Blaine’s apparently dismissive parents and complete lack of an adult support system, and there was a recipe for disaster just waiting to happen.  _Or had already happened…_    
  
_First things first…Blaine isn’t here. Jeff is. You need to help Jeff. Nick and Jeff are 16. You’re an adult, even if they don’t know it. You need to take over and do the responsible thing here. All these secrets are hurting these kids. Dalton was meant to be a haven from the outside world… Why isn’t there a better support system for them? Who’s protecting them from themselves?_  
  
Darren figured he would need to take the first step. He cautiously reached out a hand and placed it gently on Nick’s arm. "Nick. Hey. I recognize things aren’t good right now. And I’m really sorry we scared you. But I’m done with secrets, Ok? We’re going to fix this.” He met Jeff’s eyes. “Jeff,  _I want you to talk to me_. To both of us. I’m sorry if what happened with me hurt you. Or scared you. But I think you know we both need some help. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this, it’s that there  _needs_  to be a change. Ok?”   
  
Jeff looked uncertain. Nick wiped at his eyes as his breath hitched.  
  
Darren spoke softly. There was such a fine line between getting someone to accept they needed help, and pushing them completely over the edge into denial. “I’m not saying you have to stop what you’re doing right now and magically get better. I know that’s not practical, Jeff. But I want you to be willing to make an effort. For me? And for Nick?”  
  
Jeff looked like he might cry. “Blaine…you know I hate this. But it’s all I  _have_. Nothing else  _helps_.”  
  
Darren raised himself to his knees and moved to kneel next to Jeff, putting an hand on his shoulder.  “We’re going to fix this Ok?” He felt Jeff nod.  
  
Nick’s voice was barely a whisper in the room. “Were going to fix  _both_  of you.”  
  
Darren could feel something stirring in his chest. It felt like  _hope_.


	11. Chapter 11

Darren returned to his spot and resumed nibbling on his dinner. “Will you two tell me what happened after I left?” he inquired.  
  
Nick nodded. He was still sitting close to Jeff. His thumb was making small circles on the pulse point of Jeff’s wrist over his shirt. Darren suspected neither one of them was actually aware of the movements.  
  
“After you collapsed at practice,” Nick began, “the faculty wouldn’t tell us  _anything_. You didn’t come to any classes that next day, and then we got word from the Headmaster’s Office that you wouldn’t be returning for a while. Some sort of  _family issue_. But none of us bought that. You never called, or texted, or  _anything_. The teachers said you had just gotten dehydrated and were fine. But that didn’t make  _sense_. And you had seem so  _sad_ and so _worried_  for weeks before that even happened. And we kept checking online hoping you would post something. We knew you wouldn’t just leave us with no explanation. We were worried. And then….” Nick broke off, looking apologetically at Jeff.  
  
“…I started acting weird,” Jeff acknowledged. “Or, weirder. Because I  _knew_  what was wrong. Blaine, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have kept your secrets either. You could have been seriously hurt by it. But I didn’t want to push you away. I know how hard it is. And how easy it is to fall backwards. And I knew you weren’t ready for help. But when you passed out during practice, I knew it was because you hadn’t been eating. And it was my fault it got that bad! Because I was selfish, and I didn’t want you to tell anyone what you had seen, either!”  
  
_Well, that explained why they were all trying so hard to get Blaine to go to breakfast. And why I’ve been getting concerned looks all day. And why Jeff and Nick wanted me in here eating with them. They thought it would be easier. On Blaine. Blaine has an eating disorder. And apparently his family feels it’s better to hide it than treat it. Just wonderful. I should totally call his parents and yell at them._  
  
“Until I walked in on you in that bathroom with that blade, and you couldn’t keep it a secret anymore,” Nick continued. “And then instead of taking you to the infirmary,  _like I should have_ , I just let the whole stupid pile of secrets bury all of us. I’m an idiot.”  
  
Jeff shook his head. “You’re not an idiot, Nick.”  
  
Nick disagreed. “I am. I kept your secret. We all know what happened before. I shouldn’t have let it continue. I was mad a Blaine for not telling anyone what was going on with himself. But I’m just as bad. Worse maybe. Blaine was trying to protect himself. I don’t have an excuse.”  
  
“You were trying to be a friend,” Jeff said softly.  
  
Things were at least becoming a little clearer for Darren. Blaine had an eating disorder. Jeff knew about it, but didn’t say anything because Blaine had apparently caught Jeff self harming. And they were both so concerned with keeping their own issues secret it left them with this self destructive pact of silence going on. Then Blaine collapsed, and Nick caught Jeff self harming. But if they were all keeping everything quiet, how did the rest of the Warblers seem to know about Blaine?  
  
Darren posed the question to the two of them. “So, if you both were keeping all of this secret, how come when I came back, everyone seemed really interested in making me eat breakfast? And why did Trent tell me to talk to Jeff if I needed to talk about what happened?


	12. Chapter 12

Jeff looked uncomfortable. “Blaine….I’m sorry. When Nick asked me why I had been acting so strange and why I was cutting again, I told him about you. About how I went into the bathroom and heard you throwing up. And how you acted so weird when you saw me. And how I couldn’t actually remember the last time I saw you eat more than a couple bites of a meal. I wanted to distract him from me. He, um, freaked out, and said he wasn’t going to watch us hurt ourselves, not after, you know, before, and….wekindatoldthewarblers.”  
  
It took Darren a minute to decipher the last sentence. “You told the Warbler’s? Why?”  _I thought you said Blaine saw you self injuring….that’s why you kept his secret…so you must have already been doing it before you realized what Blaine was doing…it wasn’t guilt over Blaine that made you do it, it had already started…_  
  
Nick’s answer was quiet, but earnest. “Blaine, we already knew  _something_  was wrong. And you weren’t there. We didn’t know when or if you would be back. But Jeff  _was_  here. And keeping your secret was really hurting him. He thought something bad had happened to you that we weren’t being told about and it was all his fault for not telling anyone what you were doing. I was worried for him. And you know all of us are like family. The Warbler’s all just want to help. I’m sorry if we’ve made things more awkward for you…”  
  
Darren shook his head.  _I doubt Blaine will be thrilled, but he needs support. And having these people at his back is a good thing_. “It’s Ok,” he assured the other two. “I can see why you did it. And it’s probably better for both of us to have the support.”  
  
He would have to tread carefully on this next question. From the way it  _sounded_ , Nick had at some point found out Jeff’s self harm started  _before_  he caught Blaine throwing up. Jeff had mentioned in front of Nick that he didn’t want Blaine to tell on him either. But he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. And he didn’t want to make Nick more upset with Jeff. “Jeff…what happened with you…have you talked it through with Nick? I hate to think of you here trying to deal with my issues and yours…” Darren trailed off.  
  
Jeff looked weary. There was a suspicious glittering to his eyes in the light. Darren was impressed he had kept it together so far. He wished these private school boys weren’t quite so good at putting on that stoic mask and hiding their true emotions. The world of status and expectations they were growing up in didn’t seem to take kindly to any perceived weakness. It kind of made him want to hit something.  _They have a right to be upset. Or hurt. Or to need help._  
  
Nick spoke up. “I knew there had to be more to the story that Jeff wasn’t telling me. After what happened with Jeff in our old school, I knew he wouldn’t have just let you keep not eating without saying anything. I couldn’t figure out why he would keep it a secret. He knows how bad a disorder can get without being treated.” Nick turned to Jeff. His words were soft, like he knew their power to bruise. Darren hurt for the two of them, wrapped in these painful secrets. “And I know how much you hated the hospital when you went in just before Dalton, Jeff, but you knew it helped in the long run. The only reason I could think of for you not telling was if there was something else you didn’t want me to know going on. And there is. God, Jeff, do you know how much I worry every day that I’m not going to be _enough_ , and I’m going to lose you?”


	13. Chapter 13

There were tears making tracks down Jeff’s face. They were the only sign of his distress. His face remained passive. Darren thought he might actually prefer a full breakdown. The rigid control that couldn’t  _quite_  hold in the tears was disconcerting. He didn’t know how to comfort someone who looked for all the world like the last thing they wanted was to have someone call them on their anguish.   
  
“You always seem to see what no one else does, Nick. And you were right. I did start before I caught Blaine in the bathroom.” Jeff looked towards Darren. “I’m sorry Blaine. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. But I still can’t help wishing none of it ever came out…I know that’s selfish, but I’m just so  _tired_ …”  
  
Darren tried to make his tone as nonjudgmental as possible. “And no one but the three of us know what Jeff is doing?” he asked.  
  
Nick shook his head. “I’ve asked him to tell someone about the cutting. Over and over. He keeps refusing. He’s afraid of what it will mean. But you aren’t getting any better Jeff! You won’t even wear short sleeves in the room anymore. I know you don’t want anyone else seeing the scars. But you haven’t hidden them from me since before we both transferred. I know you’re hiding fresh cuts Jeff!”  
  
Jeff winced. His fingernails were digging into his palms. “Would you stop using that word? Every time you say it my arms _itch_. And I’m sorry if you’re  _disappointed in me_.” Jeff practically spit those last words out. Darren suspected there were a lot of less than productive conversations between those two. Maybe Jeff would respond better to him.  _Or me impersonating Blaine anyway_ … At least Blaine and Jeff had a common ground to build on. Jeff could at least see Blaine as someone who could understand how actions that others would only see as self destructive could seem helpful to him. _I should at least try to get him to show me his arms. I need to know what I’m dealing with. If he needs immediate medical attention I don’t care how much he’ll hate me for it, I’m getting a faculty member._  Darren would prefer to convince Jeff that  _he_  needed to tell a guidance counselor or therapist what was going on, but if it looked like Jeff wasn’t willing and there was an immediate threat to Jeff’s health physically or mentally, Darren wouldn’t hesitate to call for help from the professionals.  
  
Darren tried to infuse his voice with as much of the compassion he was feeling as he could. He needed Jeff to trust him. “Jeff, will you please show me your arms?”  
  
Jeff looked mutinous. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared back at Darren. “Blaine, I don’t need you hovering over me any more than I need Nick hovering! I’m  _fine_. It’s nowhere near as bad as it was before. I’m just under a lot of stress right now. But I’m Ok! Maybe you should think about worrying about  _yourself_   Blaine! You know you aren’t ready to be back yet. When Hunter informed us you were coming back a couple days ago, we all knew it was too soon. Trent figured your father pulled you out of there as soon as possible because the only thing your father wanted less than a gay son, was a bulimic gay son!”  
  
Nick looked horrified. “Jeff!” he gasped, and then just sat and gaped at the two boys sitting before him like he had no idea where to go from there.  
  
Darren remained calm. Jeff could lash out at  _Blaine_  all he wanted. Fortunately, Blaine wasn’t there.  _And it’s a good thing. Because Jeff would have hurt Blaine more with his words_ … It was Darren that was there. And Darren had more or less expected that would be the response. So Darren wasn’t going to be affected like Blaine would have. Darren knew Jeff was just trying to alienate Blaine and Nick and shift the attention on Blaine’s eating disorder so they would either be sidetracked or mad enough at him for being insensitive that they would leave him alone, and he wouldn’t have to show them what he had done to himself. Maybe he was even looking for an excuse to punish himself. But Darren wasn’t budging on this. It was too important.  _Jeff_  was too important.   
  
“You’re probably right,” Darren acknowledged, “it probably is too soon for me to be back.”  _God, what if Blaine transplanted into my life? He’ll never be able to manage. And if I ever make it out of this rabbit hole, what on earth am I going to find on the other side?…Focus on here Darren. You can’t do a stupid thing about what’s going on there. How am I going to get back? Help Jeff, get help set up for Blaine, help Kurt, and if that is what the crazy Powers That Be want from me, I better not go home to find my life in shambles. This is too much. How can I do this? Focus, Darren. One problem at a time…_  
  
“Coming back wasn’t my decision, Jeff.”  _At least, I’m assuming it wasn’t. For all I know I’m here and Blaine still is wherever it is they sent him._.. “I know I still need help. And even if my father is going to live in denial, I won’t anymore. And I know at least the Warbler’s are willing to be a support system for me. I have no doubt they want to be there for you too. All you have to do is let them in. Jeff, please? And I promise, as long as I don’t think you need immediate medical attention, I won’t make you tell anyone or make any final decisions tonight.”  
  
Nick started to say something, but Darren just shook his head and put his finger to his lips. Nick quieted and looked hopefully at Jeff.  
  
Jeff looked torn. Darren let him work through his choices in his head. He hoped he would come to the right conclusion.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where Darren sees the result of Jeff's self injury, and it is more graphic than the other chapters. Please take care when or if you choose to read this chapter if you may have an issue with the imagery.

Jeff sat silently for several minutes, fidgeting with his blazer cuffs. Darren waited patiently. Nick watched pleadingly. Jeff finally nodded slowly and looked back up at Darren. “And you promise that as long as I’m not about to bleed out all over the floor you won’t call someone?”  
  
Darren hoped he was making the right decision. Maybe calling someone was the right thing to do. But all he could think was that for Jeff to get through this, he was going to need his friends. And he was going to need to _trust_  his friends. There was only a couple hours left until bedtime, and hopefully Jeff could look at things more clearly after a night’s sleep. Darren wasn’t a medical professional. All he could do was trust his instincts. He wasn’t going to just leave the two of them alone for the night though. After this kind of confrontation, Darren suspected that Jeff’s emotions would be all over the place. And even if he wasn’t going to immediately hurt himself, it was unlikely he could get through the night without giving into the urges if he didn’t have someone there to intervene. Darren wasn’t going to leave Nick to deal with that on his own.  
  
Darren turned to Nick and asked, “Are both of you here all weekend?” Nick nodded.   
  
Darren turned back to Jeff. “I promise, Jeff. I won’t call someone tonight. Under two conditions. One, Nick and I are  _both_  spending the night in here with you. We just want you to be safe,” Darren continued, as Jeff started shaking his head and tried to interrupt. “And two, if you do feel the urge is too strong, I need you to  _tell us_. Don’t try to hide it. I don’t want you to think we’re going to go back on our word if you admit it’s too hard. I know it will be, ok? And it’s ok to ask for help.”   
  
Jeff nodded reluctantly at the two of them. “I’ll….do it. I’ll let you see. But  _please_ , don’t tell! I don’t want to go back into the hospital. I  _hated_  it last time.  _Don’t make me go back_.”  
  
Nick put an arm around Jeff’s shoulders. There was a barely noticeable tremor running through Jeff’s entire body. “Jeff, we don’t know that’s what they would make you do, Ok? Last time no one knew what was wrong with you, you were so severely depressed you didn’t care if you lived or died, and you hurt yourself so badly that the doctors weren’t even sure they could stop the bleeding in time. You haven’t reached that point again. There’s no reason to assume they’ll admit you as an inpatient again. Don’t assume getting help means having to leave Dalton, Ok?”  
  
Jeff sighed. “I know I’m catastrophizing. I haven’t forgotten  _everything_  they told me in therapy. But it’s really hard to remember right now. I don’t know how this happened again.  _And I hate it._ ”  
  
“It will get better. But you need to take that first step.” Darren nodded towards Jeff’s arms.  
  
Jeff slowly pulled off his blazer and placed it carefully on the bed behind him. He started unbuttoning his cuffs. Darren waited patiently. He knew Jeff was struggling with this. He would give him time. Slowly Jeff pushed both sleeves up. Darren tried to stifle his surprised gasp.   
  
Most of them weren’t terribly deep. Darren was grateful for that at least. Four or five looked more severe and more painful than the others, but Darren didn’t think any of them would need stitches. There were a lot, though. Long horizontal lines, running up both his arms. Some looked carefully done, evenly spaced and equal in length. Others were bunched together haphazardly, on top of each other and shorter, like they had been done quicker and with less control. Darren could see older white scars beneath them. Two thicker white scars ran vertically up both arms from wrist to about four inches up both arms. The newest ones were still red and painful looking.  _Oh, Jeff, what happened to you to make you resort to this as your best option?_  
  
Nick looked dismayed. He ran his fingers lightly up Jeff’s arm, barely brushing the marks. “Were there this many when I caught you in the bathroom? You only had your sleeve pushed up a little. I didn’t see this. If I had, I would have tried harder to get you to talk to me. I’m so _sorry_ ….” Nick breathed, sounding shattered.  
  
Jeff shook his head. “Nick, if you had pushed I would have just retreated more. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I’m sorry it upsets you, but I need it. Can’t you  _get_  that? At least with this, I can _feel_  again.”  
  
“Can you tell us what you mean by that?” Darren asked. “What does it do for you, exactly? How does it help?”  
  
Jeff shrugged. “I just, all I feel lately is sad, numb, or frustrated. I can’t feel happy anymore. Over anything. Even things that  _should_  make me happy. I just can’t seem to care. It’s like all the color is gone and I’m left in this gray world. This…,” Jeff motioned to his arms, “brings the color back. Sort of. Both literally and figuratively. It kind of jump starts my emotions I guess?”  
  
“Because you’re releasing endorphins,” Nick confirmed, “it’s sending chemicals into your brain to counteract the depression.”   
  
Darren was slightly surprised by Nick’s knowledge. Nick seemed to notice.  
  
“I did a lot of research after Jeff went into the hospital,” he explained. “I was really upset I hadn’t seen how much he was struggling before. I wanted to be able to help him.”  
  
“You did,” Jeff assured. “More than you’ll ever know. You have no idea how relieved I was when they decided to send me to Dalton after I got out of the hospital that you were going to be coming too.”  
  
“You’re my best friend. Of course I was coming,” Nick stated. “And it helped that your parents wanted to have someone here with you. At least we had each other when we both landed here two months into the new school year. Being back at that old school without you would have sucked. I was glad to leave. The bullying had been getting pretty bad.”  
  
“Everything had gotten pretty bad,” Jeff murmured. “But then it had gotten  _better_. I don’t understand why I feel so much  _worse_  all the sudden.”  
  
“I’m sorry you do,” Darren said. “But we’re going to do our best to help you find  _better_ again. Just don’t give up.”  
  
“I wish is was that easy,” Jeff murmured.   
  
_So do I Jeff, so do I._


	15. Chapter 15

The three boys had settled into a quiet kind of contemplation sitting on the floor. Jeff looked tired. Darren hoped if they could get him into bed soon he could sleep through the night and not be overwhelmed by the desire to cut.   
  
“I’m going to go back to my room and grab some blankets and pillows and bring my stuff back here. Then we can get settled in for the night, ok?” Darren asked.  
  
Nick looked worried. And apologetic, like he didn’t think Blaine was going to like his next statement. “Yeah, Blaine, that’s a good idea…But you didn’t finish your dinner. Do you think you could at least try to eat the sandwich before you go?”  
  
Oh, yeah. _Darren, you Idiot…_  Darren had forgotten about his plate of food in the middle of the explanation he had been getting from Nick and Jeff. He hadn’t gotten through more than five or six carrot sticks. He kept forgetting Nick wasn’t seeing Darren, he was seeing Blaine.  _And now he probably thinks he has to babysit two Warblers who are both going to relapse in his dorm room tonight. Brilliant._  Darren considered. He couldn’t just eat it all and then take off, it would be too unlike Blaine. And Nick would probably figure he would just go throw it up when he got out of the door. And he didn’t want to add to the stress Nick was already under trying to take care of Jeff. He needed to make enough of an effort to pacify Nick, but not look so recovered that they would either worry he was somehow  _hiding_  how advanced Blaine’s disorder was and throwing up behind their backs, or making them think he was recovered enough that when Blaine  _did_  return, they wouldn’t be alert enough to keep an eye out for him.  _When did a simple sandwich become so complicated?_  If the struggle and forethought  _Blaine_  had trying to eat was anything like the complex equations Darren was currently trying to juggle in his head as to what was acceptable to eat, he really felt for the guy.  
  
Darren decided eating half the sandwich would do. It was turkey and cheese on wheat bread, and sat heavy in his stomach. He didn’t have to fake his reluctance to eat it, nerves were making him slightly nauseous. Nick looked relieved. And then pensive again. “Blaine…” he began.  
  
“Yeah Nick?”  
  
“Look, I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you, because I do. I want to. But after everything with Jeff…”  
  
Darren raised his eyebrows. “What is it, Nick?”  
  
“You remember when you told Jeff we were both staying because you just wanted to make sure he was safe, right? Blaine, it would make me feel better if you would take your cell phone with you and stay on the line with me until you get back. I just don’t want you to go out that door and suddenly find all the stress is making you feel like getting rid of what you just ate is a good idea. I’m sure you’d be fine, but please? For me?”  
  
Darren was impressed. Maybe he hadn’t been giving Nick enough credit. Because he had singlehandedly come up with a way to keep both his friends safe from themselves when he couldn’t be in two places simultaneously. Darren wasn’t sure if he would have come up with that idea if their positions had been reversed. Of course, Darren hadn’t given any consideration to the fact that Nick would be concerned with keeping  _him_  safe too. Darren was used to thinking about Blaine as  _some other guy_. Nick thought he _was_ Blaine.  
  
Darren nodded. “I can do that.”  
  
He found Blaine’s phone in the pocket of his pants, and had a brief moment of panic as he prayed it wasn’t password protected. It wasn’t. He scrolled through the contacts, found Nick, and dialed. When Nick picked up his own phone Darren said “I’ll just be a few minutes,” and headed out of the room. Walking down the corridor, a thought occurred to him.  
  
“Nick, what am I supposed to tell Trent? He’ll wonder why I’m not staying in the room with him tonight.”  
  
There was a brief silence, and then Darren heard a whispered conversation on the other end of the phone. Nick got back on the line. “Blaine, I asked Jeff how he felt about at least giving Trent a basic idea of what’s going on. It’s going to eventually have to come out anyway. And out of anyone, Trent is one of the most supportive. If you want to tell him we’re staying with Jeff because he’s been having a hard time and we don’t want him to relapse, you can.”  
  
“Ok, I’ll tell him,” Darren acknowledged. It was probably for the best. The less secrets they were all carrying around, the better.


	16. Chapter 16

Darren entered his dorm room to find Trent sitting at the desk surrounded by books and pencils and paper. He looked up when Darren opened the door and walked through.   
  
“Blaine!” Trent exclaimed. “You’re back!”  
  
“I am,” Darren confirmed. He spoke into the phone. “I’m in the room Nick, I’ll call you back when I’m ready to head back down.” He listened for a minute and then said, “yeah, sure.” Darren handed the phone to Trent.  
  
“Nick wants to talk to you for a second.”  
  
Trent put the phone to his ear. “Yeah Nick, right here. What?…Ok, I’ll ask him.” Trent hung up.   
  
“You’re going back to Jeff and Nick’s room for the night? Are you Ok? Was today too much? Do you need something? I didn’t do anything, did I?” Trent stammered nervously.  
  
Darren smiled reassuringly. “I’m fine, Trent. Today was good for me, actually. And I ate half a sandwich, Ok? Don’t worry. You’ve been nothing but wonderful. None of this has anything to do with something you did. It’s actually Jeff who’s kind of struggling right now. Nick and I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be on his own tonight. And Nick could use a little backup. I can kind of understand where Jeff’s coming from. I’m hoping I can help him. He needs us right now.”  
  
Trent still looked upset. “Jeff? I thought he was acting different lately. I figured he was just stressed with everything that’s been happening. Is he Ok? It isn’t like….before….is it? Before he came here?”  
  
Darren shook his head. “It’s not as bad as it was then. But it’s not great.”  
  
Trent’s voice was hushed. “Is he…you know,  _hurting himself_  again?”  
  
Darren nodded. “He is,” he confirmed quietly.  
  
Trent looked devastated. “How long?” he asked. “How did we miss this? He’s supposed to be my friend! Why didn’t I see it? Why didn’t I see either of you?”  
  
Darren cut him off before he got too deep into his desire to blame himself.   
  
“Trent, none of this is your fault. We made our own choices. Right now, all we can do is try to move forward. We need you, all right? We need all the Warblers. We’re going to all need to be here for each other. But right now, I need to get back to Jeff.”  
  
Trent nodded. “You should get back. But remember I’m here if you need me, Ok? Don’t get so preoccupied with Jeff that you forget to take care of yourself. If it gets too much, please come talk to me?”  
  
Darren nodded. “I will.”  
  
Trent reached out and hugged him. He was clinging to Darren almost desperately, like if he let go he thought Blaine would just evaporate into thin air. Darren hugged him back, then gently disentangled himself. “I’m going to try to get him to agree to see someone tomorrow,” Darren said.   
  
Trent nodded. “You have those appointments set up already with the counselor every other day at 1:00,” he reminded Darren. “Maybe you could convince him to go with you tomorrow.”  
  
Trent didn’t think he was much help to Blaine. But Darren was finding him very helpful. He hadn’t been aware Blaine  _had_  appointments scheduled. It made him feel slightly better about Dalton. After living through what would have been Blaine’s first day back and observing that while the teachers were very carefully keeping an eye on Blaine when they didn’t think he was paying attention, they didn’t actually interact with him at all, leaving him alone during the classes, Darren had wondered if they were all pretending nothing had happened as per Blaine’s father’s wishes. He had been afraid Blaine’s eating disorder would be dismissed and the real Blaine would have been left without anyone to help him. But apparently there was at least some support set up for him. And if he could get Jeff to come with him, adults would then be involved in Jeff’s predicament too. It wouldn’t have to fall to a group of teenagers to try to fix two of their own by themselves. Because as refined and adult-like as they fancied themselves, they were still children. Darren didn’t expect them to have the maturity or experience to deal with Blaine’s eating disorder or Jeff’s self harm all on their own.  
  
“That’s a good idea. Here’s hoping he’ll listen.” Darren rifled through the small bathroom in the dorm pulling out the things he would need for the night. He noticed a first aid kit in a drawer and added it to the pile. Trent looked on sadly. Darren shoved the items into a gym bag along with his pajamas, pillow, and a couple blankets. He called Nick back to let him know he was on his way back to their room. Waving clumsily at Trent, who opened the door for him so he could maneuver his way out of the room and down the hallway, Darren made his way back to Nick and Jeff’s room, phone still at his ear.


	17. Chapter 17

Darren stumbled back into Nick and Jeff’s room and deposited his armload of stuff in the middle of the floor. Nick and Jeff had both changed into night clothes. Darren noticed Jeff was currently wearing a short sleeved shirt with his sweatpants. Jeff looked up at Darren from the bed he was currently curled up on top of. He looked worried.  
  
“Blaine, I shouldn’t have said what I did. I didn’t mean it.” Jeff looked apologetic.  
  
Darren nodded. “I know Jeff. It’s ok. Don’t worry about it. Besides, you weren’t wrong about my dad.” _If the stories I keep hearing are true._  Darren reached into the pile of things from his room. He pulled out the first aid kit. “Jeff, some of those look kind of deep. You should probably make sure they’re disinfected.”  
  
“I did do that earlier,” Jeff acknowledged, “but I should probably do it again before bed. Nick?”  
  
Nick nodded and followed Jeff into the bathroom. They shut the door behind them. Darren wasn’t sure if it was for their benefit or his, but he was Ok with letting Nick take over that part of the job. It didn’t sound like it was the first time Nick had helped Jeff through the aftermath of an episode. From what Nick had said, it appeared Jeff trusted Nick enough to let him see his scars when he hid them from the others. He probably only felt comfortable showing them to Blaine now because he knew Blaine was vulnerable as well. But Nick and Jeff had come to Dalton together. It sounded like they had known each other long before they transferred, Darren mused as he changed into his pajamas.  
  
Darren’s train of thought derailed when the two of them eventually emerged from the bathroom, several white bandages wrapped carefully around Jeff’s arms. Nick pointed to the full size bed on the far side of the room and directed, “Jeff, sleep.”   
  
Jeff looked doubtful. Nick pulled him across the room, and sat down on the bed, patting the covers next to him. Jeff rolled his eyes and climbed in beside him. “You’re methods of distraction are terrible,” he informed Nick. “If you expect me to just lie here and stare at the ceiling all night, I’m going to lose my mind.” Nick gave Jeff an indignant look. “My methods of distraction are foolproof,” he informed Jeff. Then turned to Darren. “And you’re going to help! Come sit up here too. We are going to have a sing along.”  
  
 _A sing along? Is he joking?_  Darren looked blankly at Nick. “A what?”  
  
Jeff just shook his head. “Just give in, Blaine. It’s an inevitability. Nick’s answer to everything has always been to sing about it. He’s been forcing me into his idea of song therapy for years.” Jeff actually looked slightly amused, the corners of his mouth were crinkled upwards just a little bit.   
  
Nick sniffed haughtily. “You can mock all you want. You know it does help. I should patent my method. Make a million on it.”  
  
Jeff snorted. “Yeah, we’ll see Super Genius. Blaine, you might as well come sit too. He won’t take no for an answer. Denying him isn’t worth the pouting we’ll get.”  
  
Well, that was…different. Darren didn’t really have any better ideas though, and he figured Nick had been friends with Jeff long enough to know what would help. So he would go along with Nick for the moment. He climbed up on the bed on the other side of Jeff. It was a tight squeeze, but all three boys fit, Jeff laying sandwiched between the other two who sat leaning against the headboard.   
  
Nick turned to Darren. “The way this works is we alternate coming up with songs with lyrics that have meaning for us. It’s a good way to get emotions out, and get an idea of the other person’s headspace without having to have an uncomfortable drawn out conversation. It can be any song, any genre. If you want to talk about the reason you picked it, you can. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. If you know the songs the others have chosen, singing along is always welcomed as well.”  
  
Darren could actually kind of see the reasoning behind that. Talking about their feelings probably didn’t come too naturally to any of the boys. And music was a safe outlet for them. Darren could certainly relate to that. So he nodded. “Ok, who starts?”  
  
“I will.” Nick cleared his throat and hummed under his breath. He began singing quietly, “So this is what you meant, when you said that you were spent, And now it’s time to build from the bottom of the pit right to the top, don’t hold back…”  
  
Darren had a sudden flashback of himself trying to simultaneously maintain eye contact with Chris and not get tangled up in the double dutch jump rope as he sang the very same song just before Kurt left for New York. It sent a pang of homesickness through him.  
  
Jeff eventually joined in softly, “It’s time to begin, isn’t it? I get a little big bigger, but then I’ll admit, I’m just the same as I was, now don’t you understand, that I’m never changing who I am…”  
  
As the song trailed off, Nick spoke quietly to Jeff. “You don’t need to change, love, you just need to  _heal_.” Jeff rested his head on Nick’s shoulder and smiled wearily up at him. Darren felt almost like he was intruding on a private moment. Nick smiled at Darren over the top of Jeff’s head. “Who’s next?”  
  
Jeff shrugged. “I’m still thinking.”  
  
Darren had given his choice some thought while Nick was singing the last song. There were so many songs he could do. So many  _Blaine_  had done. Somebody I Used to Know. Fighter. Cough Syrup. Any of those would work. But Darren didn’t really want to just give a  _performance_. Those songs had their own meanings. Their own associations with stories that took place on Glee. But Darren wanted something new. Something that he could share with these two. Something real. So he went with the first song he thought of that just seemed to….fit. And started, “This world will never be what I expected, And if I don’t belong, who would have guessed it? I will not leave alone, everything that I own, to make you like it’s not too late, it’s never too late…” Nick and Jeff both caught on and softly added their voices to the chorus, singing to Three Days Grace’s Never to Late in unison. It pretty much summed up Darren’s experiences here in a world that was not his, and would fit both Blaine and Jeff as well.   
  
Darren finished and looked towards Nick and Jeff. Jeff looked calmer than earlier. Darren could see he was getting tired. The stress had probably worn him out. Nick smiled at him. “Good song choice.”  
  
Jeff murmured softly from his spot nested between the other two, “I have my song, Nick.”  
  
Nick pressed his lips to Jeff’s forehead. “Let’s hear it, love.”  
  
Jeff’s voice was barely above a whisper. “You come to me with scars on your wrists. You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this…”  
  
Nick smiled softly at him and continued the verse, “Just came to say goodbye, didn’t want you to see me cry,”  
  
Jeff: “I’m fine…”  
  
Nick: “But I know it’s a lie. This is the last night you’ll spend alone. Look me in the eyes so I know you know, I’m everywhere you want me to be…”  
  
As the two continued with the song, Darren could tell from the easy delivery this was one they had done many times before, Nick reassuring Jeff that he would always be there for him. It was beautiful. And painful.  _It’s like when Kurt and Blaine sing Perfect…_  
  
The song ended with Jeff curled up against Nick looking more at ease than Darren remembered seeing him since he fell into Dalton. Darren smiled at the two of them. Nick smiled back. “The Last Night by Skillet,” he explained. “It’s kind of our song.”  
  
“It’s lovely,” Darren said.  
  
Nick nodded. “And now I’ve got one more to finish it off.”  
  
Jeff lazily opened his eyes and addressed Darren. “Brace yourself, Blaine. He likes to finish big. And ridiculously, usually.”  
  
Nick shook his head. “Ignore him,” he commanded. “This is the most heartwarming, meaningful, deep song ever. You will be moved to tears. Feel free to join in.”  
  
He started slow, quiet, almost hauntingly. “ You know the world can see us, in a way that’s different than who we are…”  
  
It seemed vaguely familiar to Darren. But he couldn’t quite place it.  
  
Nick continued, “ Creating space between us, ‘Til we’re separate hearts, But your faith it gives me strength…”  
  
Jeff brought his hand up to cover his mouth and started giggling. “You’re an idiot,” he informed Nick gravely.  
  
Nick simply continued, heartfelt, “strength to believe…”  
  
It wasn’t until Nick and Jeff broke out enthusiastically on the chorus that Darren finally placed what they were singing.  
  
“We’re breakin’ free! We’re soarin’, flyin’, There’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach, if we’re trying, Yeah, we’re breaking free!”  
  
Darren stared. “Is that  _High School Musical?_ ”


	18. Chapter 18

Jeff had finally dozed off. Nick nodded his head towards the other bed in the room. “You can take my bed if you like, Blaine. I’m going to stay here for the night. Jeff always sleeps better if there’s someone within reach.”  
  
Darren considered. “Do you think it would be better for me to move? I don’t mind staying here.”  
  
Nick shrugged. “It won’t bother him if you stay. But if you get uncomfortable you’re welcome to move.”  
  
Darren stayed put. “I’m ok for the moment, thanks.”  
  
The two sat quietly for a while, Nick carding his fingers through Jeff’s hair. Jeff’s body had slowly released it’s tension as he drifted deeper into sleep. “So…” Darren started quietly, “I didn’t expect the song thing to work as well as it did. You seem to know how to get through to him.”   
  
Nick smiled. It was wistful. “This isn’t the first time. For any of it, really. The songs aren’t so much a fix as a barometer. Depending on what he chooses, I can tell how close to the edge he is. The Last Night means he’s mostly Ok. If it’s something darker I know to worry.” Nick trailed off. “The night he sang Hurt by Nine Inch Nails when we had only been at Dalton for a few weeks I had to call his mom…”  
  
_It had to be a lot of pressure for Nick.._.“How long has he been dealing with this?” Darren asked.  
  
“With the self harm, or the depression?” Nick shrugged. “Depression has always been an issue, way back when I first met Jeff when we were ten. Mental illness runs in his family. It’s especially hard for him because it can just come out of nowhere and grab hold of him. He can be relatively Ok one day and wake up the next morning just….despondent. Hopeless. With no real trigger that we can seem to pinpoint. He’s lucky his family is so supportive. His mom is bipolar. She gets what happens when Jeff gets like this. She has always had a kind of sixth sense about when he’s spiraling. But the problem is that he can’t figure out where the problem comes from, so he doesn’t know how to fix it. And then the illness itself makes him think it’s impossible to fix, and he might as well not even bother trying. Then he gets overwhelmed and tries to regain control in the only way he can think of at the moment.”  
  
“Something similar happened right before you came to Dalton, right?” Darren guessed.  
  
“Yeah…” Nick sighed. “You remember when we first got here. He would have liked to keep the whole thing a secret, but it was pretty much impossible considering all the hovering the teachers were doing and the fact he kept getting pulled out of classes for doctor’s appointments. It was like the worst kept school secret ever. To this day I’m not sure if he actually intended to kill himself when he made those vertical cuts or if he was just so out of it he didn’t know what he was doing. He says he didn’t mean to do it, but that fact that he  _did_  still scares me. If we hadn’t gotten sent to Dalton after, I doubt he would have made it through the year.” Nick’s voice dropped even lower. “And I couldn’t make it without him. He’s my best friend.”  
  
“He’s lucky he has you as a friend,” Darren said.  
  
Nick was quiet for a while. “I feel like I should apologize to you,” he finally stated.   
  
Darren looked over at him. “Why?”  
  
Nick fiddled nervously with the edge of the blanket covering them. “I was looking for someone to blame for what was going on with Jeff. When I found him in the bathroom with that blade after you…left, I was so upset. And angry. I’m his best friend. I’m supposed to look out for him. His family trusts me to watch out for him. And I just didn’t see this coming. And then he said what he knew about your eating disorder, and it felt better to blame you for triggering him than admit I had failed him. I wanted that to be the whole problem. I was the one that made him tell the others what he knew about you. I wanted to think that if he didn’t have to carry that secret he wouldn’t have a reason to hurt himself again. But I know that was just wishful thinking on my part. And that you didn’t cause his relapse. And if I ended up hurting you in the process, I want you to know I’m really,  _really_  sorry.”  
  
Darren really wished he knew what Jeff and Blaine had done that day in the bathroom when they stumbled upon each other’s secrets. Did they say anything to each other? Did they just ignore each other completely? Nick wanted to place all the blame on himself, but Darren couldn’t help think that some of the responsibility for how far things had gotten with  _Jeff_   had to be placed on  _Blaine_ , who had seen Jeff hurt himself and had done nothing. Darren understood  _why_ , Blaine couldn’t deal with his own problems right then, never mind be expected to deal with someone else’s, but Blaine couldn’t be completely absolved of all guilt. Of course, at the same time, Jeff should have said something about Blaine throwing up.   
  
“There’s a lot of things all of us should have done differently,” Darren allowed, “but worrying about the past won’t change it. You were there for Jeff when he needed you, and we’ll get him through this setback too.”  
  
Nick nodded. “I know things aren’t easy for you right now either. And I know you have Trent to talk to, but I want you to know you can talk to us too if you want to. Jeff can relate, and it might help both of you, if you can talk without all the secrecy. And I’m willing to listen too.”  
  
Darren couldn’t help but think that Nick seemed more mature than what he would expect from someone his age. He would have fit in more with the older cast of Glee than the teenagers his castmates were portraying. Darren suspected Nick had done a lot of growing up faster than most kids his age. Whether that was entirely due to Jeff or something else added to it, Darren was viewing him as an equal in his own mind, rather than a child.   
  
“I appreciate it, Nick,” Darren agreed. “Tomorrow I have an appointment with the school counselor. I’d like to see if between the two of us, we can get Jeff to agree to come too.”  
  
“I’ll see that he does.” Nick looked determined.  
  
Content that they had a plan in place and Jeff would be safe for the night, Darren drifted off into an uneasy sleep.   
  
Nick dozed fitfully, his fingers interlocked with Jeff’s in sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Darren was awakened the next morning out of a sound sleep by a projectile aimed directly at his face. He startled upright batting at whatever fluffy monstrosity was attacking him, until he realized the object was a pillow which had landed harmlessly on the floor after bouncing off of him. He gazed confusedly into the room, where three pairs of eyes were gazing back at him.  
  
Trent looked apologetic. Hunter looked impassive. Sebastian looked gleeful.   
  
“Blaine,” Sebastian purred, gazing at the three boys still lying in the same bed, “I’m impressed. You finally got Nick and Jeff to give up the pretense they’re straight. I’m only sorry I missed what must have been one  _hell_  of a night. At the very least you should have let me  _watch_.”  
  
“Sebastian,” Hunter growled, “little insensitive, you think?”  
  
Nick was blearily watching the proceedings. “Nothing happened, Sebastian.  _Some of us_ have some level of self restraint. And Jeff and I  _are_  straight. Why is that so hard for you to comprehend?”  
  
Sometime in the night Nick and Jeff had ended up entwined like twin octopuses. There were limbs in positions Darren would have possibly blushed to wake up finding himself entangled with a long term girlfriend in. And both boys seemed oblivious and unaffected. Darren was almost tempted to side with Sebastian on this one.  
  
Jeff blinked up at the three party crashers. He had pulled the covers up so only his head was visible the moment he realized there were other people in the room. “What are you  _doing_  here? It’s Saturday! Why are you  _waking us up_?”   
  
Trent looked sheepish. “I came down for breakfast and Hunter wanted to know how Blaine was after his first day back. When I told him he didn’t sleep in the dorm and I hadn’t seen him or Nick or Jeff yet, he decided, and I quote, ‘I wasn’t capable of watching over so much as a stuffed bird’ and he was going to bring you guys breakfast since the dining hall was about to close.”  
  
“Well,” Nick agreed, “Luciano did come to an untimely demise at your hands…”  
  
“It’s not my fault the bird died!” Trent exclaimed. “We’ve been over this! He was old. It happens. It was an unfortunate tragedy, but I didn’t kill him! And Pavarotti is still alive!”  
  
“Because we didn’t let  _you_ touch the replacement bird,” Hunter muttered.  
  
Jeff looked confused. “Why is the dining hall closing? What time is it?”  
  
“10:30,” Hunter stated. “You guys slept pretty late.”  
  
“Falling into a parallel universe will do that for you,” Darren muttered under his breath to himself.  
  
Hunter stared blankly at him. “I’m sorry, what?”  
  
“Never mind.” Darren shook his head.  
  
“Everyone up,” Hunter ordered. “We have muffins and fruit. We will leave them here for you. Nick, make sure Blaine eats. Jeff, don’t bother with the covers. We saw before you guys woke up. You don’t get to hide this from us. I better not find you three are still keeping secrets from me. Sebastian, stop  _ogling_. This playboy facade is not impressing me. Do we need to have a group conversation about you too?”  
  
Darren listened to Hunter’s rant with a vague sense of horror. Was he  _crazy_? Was he _trying_  to trigger the boys? Hunter had yelled at Sebastian for being insensitive, but he just called Blaine, Jeff, _and possible Sebastian? what was up with that?_  out on every secret like they were nothing.   
  
Then again…Darren seemed to be the only one reacting to him. Sebastian simply rolled his eyes and stuffed a muffin in his mouth. Jeff shrugged and lowered the blankets, exposing white bandages. “You’re a jerk,” he informed Hunter.  
  
Hunter simply shrugged. “And Trent has a big mouth. You had to figure it would come out eventually. Now you don’t have to worry about our reactions. We already know. You should be  _thanking me_. I just lessened your stress.”  
  
Nick followed the exchange between Jeff and Hunter, eyes drifting back and forth between the two. “You could have triggered him,” he suggested mildly.  
  
Hunter shook his head. “You worry too much. He’s stronger than you think.”  
  
“He’s  _right here_ ,” Jeff interjected, an exasperated look on his face.  
  
Hunter grinned at him. “And you’re all right this morning, aren’t you Sunshine?” He turned his attention to Trent and Sebastian. “And we’ve verified that Duval isn’t screwing things up. Come on, we’re going to head out.” He glanced back into the room as he headed for the door, corralling the other two and pushing them out ahead of him. Trent sent a sheepish wave in their direction. Hunter made one last demand. “Movie Night is tonight at 6:30 in Wes’ room. If you don’t show up we will simply track you down. Do not be late.” Hunter left, shutting the door behind him.  
  
Darren looked bewilderedly at Nick and Jeff. “What just happened?”


	20. Chapter 20

Hunter was an enigma to Darren. He had only been in a couple of episodes on Glee, and playing the role of the villain. This Hunter seemed unpredictable and wound extremely tightly. But Darren didn’t get Evil Villain vibes from him either. Darren now thought he was probably wrong about the steroid usage. Bossy and severely lacking in brain-to-mouth filtering Hunter definitely was, but no one seemed to be reacting as if he were in the habit of intentionally hurting them, either with his actions or his words.   
  
Darren watched the two boys still in the room, searching for signs of distress from either Nick or Jeff. There were none. Nick grabbed an orange from the plate Hunter had left, and headed towards the bathroom calling back “Gonna shower, guys. Grab something to eat. Blaine, you can shower in here after if you don’t want to go back to your room.”  
  
Jeff picked up a muffin and handed Darren an orange. Darren peeled it while watching Jeff with raised eyebrows. He decided to assume Hunter’s responses appeared normal to the others. “So…Hunter hasn’t developed a filter for his brain yet I see?”   
  
Jeff scoffed. “He’s lucky we all like him. I don’t know how he doesn’t get himself in trouble in class more the way he just blurts stuff out. Somehow he still seems to have this ability to know when not to push too far. He didn’t upset you did he?” Jeff looked slightly worried.  
  
Darren shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I was more worried you would be upset the way he just blurted out about the….” Darren gestured towards Jeff’s arms.  
  
“No, it’s all right,” Jeff reassured Darren. He looked thoughtful. “Well, I mean, it’s not great, but maybe it’s easier for me because they aren’t finding out about it for the first time? I know how they all reacted last time when I first got here. And I was way more of a mess then. And they didn’t even know me. But they were still supportive. Or it could be that I can’t really find the emotions to be upset at the moment…I’m more numb than anything. I probably need my medication readjusted. I hate that. But it’s just the usual down mood. Not the spiraling one that ends up with me, you know.”  
  
“Jeff,” Darren began cautiously, unsure how he would react, but unable to come up with a better way to ask than just coming out and saying it, “I have an appointment with the counselor at 1:00. What do you think about coming with me? You can talk to them about maybe changing medication? And how you’ve been feeling lately?”  
  
Jeff didn’t look particularly enthusiastic, but he didn’t immediately refuse Darren either. “I guess. If I don’t Nick will just drag me down there himself anyway. He’s worse than my  _mother_.”  
  
“He just wants you to be happy,” Darren countered mildly.   
  
“I know. But I’m bipolar. And apparently kinda rapid cycling at the moment. At some point Nick is just going to have to accept that sometimes my brain is just going to get the best of me.”  
  
“Maybe,” Darren allowed, “but there’s no point in trying to deal with it alone if you don’t need to. If there’s a chance they can make it better, why not take it?”  
  
Jeff simply shrugged. “In some ways we’re the same, Blaine. In others, I think we’re very different. Even now, you manage to maintain a positive outlook. You’re doing better without the support you should be able to have than I sometimes do with my family and everyone supporting me. You’re stronger than you think you are. I think I envy that.”  
  
Darren just smiled back at him and shrugged.  
  
If Jeff had been dealing with this since he was _ten_  like Nick had mentioned, Darren thought  _Jeff_  was stronger than he thought he was. Darren wished he knew what to say to Jeff. But he was exhausted by the last couple of days and overwhelmed by the constant drama he kept finding himself dropped in the middle of. He had simply run out of encouraging responses. He needed to regroup. And Jeff seemed stable enough at the moment for Darren to feel comfortable leaving him alone. Once Darren heard the water turn off in the bathroom, he turned to Jeff and said, “I need to do a couple things before we meet at 1:00. I’m going to head back to my own room, ok?”  
  
“That’s fine. I’ll meet you in the common room at ten of one, ok?”  
  
“I’ll be there,” Darren confirmed, and made his exit, feeling slightly guilty for leaving, but knowing Nick would keep an eye on Jeff.


	21. Chapter 21

Darren arrived back at Blaine and Trent’s dorm room and made a silent request to whatever Powers out there would listen that the room would be empty when he opened the door. Snooping would be much easier without Trent following him around in all his well-meaning but overbearing earnestness. Darren was hoping for some time to try to figure more about Blaine out before he had to show up at a therapy session and pretend to  _be_  him.  
  
The room was empty. Maybe Trent was still wandering around with Hunter and Sebastian. In any case, it would make things easier for him. Darren quickly showered and changed, shaking his head at the closets and drawers full of clothes he would have expected to see hanging up in Wardrobe. Since it was Saturday, he figured he could ignore the uniform and elected for Blaine’s not-that-much-more-casual and still Dalton colored weekend wear. He was a little at a loss with the hair gel. Stylists spent an hour or two each day before filming turning Darren into Blaine. He wasn’t really sure how to style his careless curls into Blaine’s slicked back style on his own. By the time he was finished playing around with his hair, he figured while it wasn’t perfect and was much less gel than was usually used, it probably wouldn’t make anyone think it was  _too_ different.   
  
His next order of business was trying to get clues into Blaine’s life. Darren figured a good place to start would be Blaine’s cell phone. He had called Nick using it earlier, but hadn’t had a chance to check for texts or voicemails. With the amount of time teenagers spent with their phones texting each other, maybe there would be some useful information there. Pulling the phone out, Darren searched through the message function.   
  
There were a fair amount of messages saved, most of them dating to three weeks prior or longer. Most were to or from the other Warblers, Trent in particular. If Darren had to guess, he would say Trent was probably Blaine’s closest friend from Dalton. Most of the texts were typical. Greetings, homework questions, plans to go out on the weekends, silly comments, complaints about teachers. Nothing too concerning until the last few days worth. Then:  
  
**blaine, u freaked us out in practice! u ok? call me!**  
  
**hey, what happened?**  
  
**dude, it’s been two days. CALL US!**  
  
**school says u wont be back? family? what happened?**  
  
**Blaine, RU OK?**  
  
**…?**  
  
There were lots of similar texts from most of the boys. Darren felt bad for them. He could feel their confusion turning to panic as the texts continued without any response. He switched over to list just Jeff’s texts to Blaine. Jeff knew what was wrong. Darren wondered if he had said anything.  
  
There were several texts around the time the other boys were begging Blaine to call them back.  
  
**blaine, please let us know if you r ok…**  
  
**did ur family find out?**  
  
**im sorry…**  
  
Darren scrolled backwards. There was only one text about a week before Blaine’s exit from Dalton that Darren thought might have been about the secrets:  
  
**blaine…i wont say if u wont. promise. but u should talk to someone.**  
  
There were two texts on the phone dated the Thursday night before Darren woke up in Dalton. One was outgoing to a number marked “Dad” and simply stated  **“made it to room. going to bed.”**  There was no reply to it. The other text was a received message from “Cooper” that read  **“sorry squirt, wish he was different. CALL IF U NEED ME.”**  
  
Darren smiled at the last message. It appeared Blaine’s brother was at least attempting to be helpful in this universe. He wondered if he was anything like the character on the show. He couldn’t imagine anyone being that ridiculous in real life.  _I wonder if he was pointing while he wrote that LAST SENTENCE so Blaine knew how SINCERE HE WAS!._  
  
Darren tried to retrieve the voicemail, but the phone asked for a number code. Darren couldn’t find a successful combination. He opened the email app on the smartphone and went through the emails. Most were junk mail or reminders for school assignments. It appeared any memos the school needed to send out got send out via email to the students. There was a reminder notice from the guidance office that Blaine had an appointment Saturday.  
  
Abandoning his phone search, Darren turned his attention to the desk. It was piled with books and papers that seemed to belong to both Trent and Blaine. Blaine’s were in a neater pile on a corner of the desk, Trent had work strewn out over the rest of it. Darren leafed through the papers. Several graded papers were marked lower than Darren would have expected. Blaine wasn’t failing by any means, but there were quite a few B’s and even a couple papers marked with a C. For some reason Darren had always assumed Blaine would be a straight A student.  
  
Towards the bottom of the pile was a plain blue notebook. Opening it, Darren found that while it wasn’t quite the diary he had wished for, it did give him a window into Blaine’s mind. It wasn’t schoolwork related. It seemed to be filled with snippets of lyrics, quotes, and doodles. There was a date on the first page, but no others. It appeared Blaine had been writing in the book for almost a year. The first few pages seemed innocuous enough. Doodles of music notes and instruments, a stunningly accurate rendition of an unfriendly teacher Darren recognized from a Science class drawn to resemble an angry dragon. Lyrics from various pop songs. Darren felt a pang of homesickness as he turned the page and the lyrics from Teenage Dream came into view surrounded by a cloud of hand drawn happy faces.   
  
Flipping through the book, though, Darren could almost watch the progression of whatever had overtaken Blaine reflected on the pages. The happy doodles turned into less happy doodles, then turned into images of sad eyes, and storm clouds, and one rather disturbing view of a gravestone surrounded by blue and red blazers. Lyrics and quotes took on a decidedly fatalistic tone. Darren could see how Blaine had been feeling, but he still couldn’t find the  _why_. Maybe Blaine himself didn’t even know.   
  
Darren glanced at his watch. It was almost time to meet Jeff and head for the guidance office. Grabbing Blaine’s phone, he did a quick online search for the Dalton website and came up with a map of the campus. After figuring out where he needed to end up, he headed out the door, hoping that his destination would result in some assistance for Jeff, and insight into Blaine for him.


	22. Chapter 22

Darren stopped by the common room to find Jeff already sitting on a couch and glaring at Nick, who looked up at Darren and shrugged. “I wanted to be sure you two are actually going to make it to your destination.”  
  
Jeff looked offended. “I told you I would go!”  
  
Nick shrugged again. “Yeah, and maybe I just happen to be headed in the same direction, and I figured I could use some company.”  
  
Jeff snorted. “The only thing at that end of campus besides the counseling center is the Dalton swimming pool. And you don’t swim!”  
  
“Maybe I want to learn,” Nick suggested.  
  
Jeff did not look impressed. “When they tried to make swimming mandatory in PE, you had a panic attack, hid in the locker rooms and called my father to, and I quote, ‘file an injunction preventing the school from forcing you into an unsafe and psychologically damaging environment.’”  
  
“Your father is an excellent lawyer,” Nick stated.  
  
Jeff rolled his eyes. “My father is used to communicating with the school about me. He’s good at psych-speak. He just had to adapt it to your psychotic, irrational behavior.”  
  
Nick folded his arms. “You really want to start a list of comparisons, Sterling? And my fear of swimming pools is not irrational. There is never any need to be in anything deeper than a bathtub. If we were meant to swim, we would have been born with gills!”  
  
Darren decided when Jeff pursed his lips together and flapped his hands back and forth near ear level making fishy faces at Nick that it was probably time to intercede.   
  
“Umm….guys, we don’t want to be late. Shall we go?”  
  
Jeff nodded. “I guess. Although I’m thinking maybe instead of using the time to talk about me, we should get the professionals looking at Nick’s behavioral problems.”  
  
Nick pointed towards the door. “Out! Now!”  
  
Jeff pouted, but headed out the door. The guidance department was housed in a small building in a far corner of the campus. Walking through the main doors, Darren found himself in what appeared to be a small waiting room with several chairs in it. There was a receptionists desk against one wall, and a hallway with several offices in it. Darren was surprised. He had expected a single office with a counselor more qualified to deal with college questions than mental disorders.  
  
Jeff seemed to notice Darren’s surprise. “Yeah, you haven’t been here much before, have you?” he asked. “I spent a fair amount of time here right after I started at Dalton. The school’s zero tolerance bullying policy is a big reason a lot of kids get sent here. Dalton probably has more kids with…issues… than the normal school. They come here because it’s safe. And the higher tuition helps pay for a better guidance department. Last I knew there were three professionals, a guidance counselor for general day to day questions, college information and stuff, a psychiatrist for evaluations and to care for meds, and a therapist for kids who need someone to talk to. If the problem is something they aren’t trained for, they will find a suitable outside source.” He unconsciously pulled his sleeves down over his hands, nervously twisting them. Darren suspected he was worried they would elect to find him an “outside source.”  
  
Darren was actually pretty impressed. It was more than he had hoped for, anyway. Although he did wonder why Blaine’s first day back at Dalton he hadn’t had any contact with any of them. Didn’t it seem like a good idea to make sure the student who just got pulled out of a psychiatric ward or rehab clinic or wherever Blaine had been was adjusting properly? In any case, Darren had a purpose for being there. He walked up to the desk and told the woman sitting at it, “Blaine Anderson? I have an appointment? And Jeff also needs to talk to someone as soon as possible. He’s been having some…difficulties.”  
  
The woman nodded. She didn’t look that surprised to see Jeff. “Have a seat, boys. Blaine, Ms. Hirsch will be with you shortly. Jeff, I’ll see if we can get you in with Mr. Marvin, ok?”  
  
“Hirsch is the psychiatrist, Marvin is the therapist,” Jeff whispered. “Technically they are Doctors Hirsch and Marvin, but I think they’ve got some sort of idea that if they go by Mr. or Ms. they are more approachable. They’re ok though, as far as shrinks go.”  
  
Darren sat down in the chair and waited. He watched the others as he sat. The woman at the desk was typing at the computer in front of her. She didn’t pay much attention to the boys. Darren halfway suspected if he could walk over there he would see her typing at a blog or something similar rather than inputting work related information. She was far too engrossed in the screen for it to be simple student information. Nick was sitting in the chair next to Jeff. He was doing the unconscious gentle circles on Jeff’s hand again. And again, neither seemed to be aware of it. Jeff was simply staring blankly into space.   
  
Darren was beginning to suspect he was getting a glimpse of what Jeff meant when he said he was rapid cycling. Within a relatively short period of time he had gone from apparently self injuring again to lightheartedly teasing Nick about the swimming pool to staring blankly ahead like there wasn’t an emotion in his body. It had to be exhausting for Nick, trying to help Jeff when Jeff’s whole outlook could go from ok to pointless within as little as a few minutes time. He hoped the therapist could give him some assistance.  
  
But right now he would need to worry about himself. Or worry about Blaine. Because the woman who opened the door to the first office in the hallway looked out into the waiting area and called out, “Blaine?”  
  
 _And here we go…_


	23. Chapter 23

Darren entered the psychiatrist’s office with a fair amount of trepidation. He just needed to get through this session without leaving the woman feeling like Blaine was crazy. Which was going to be no easy task, considering that at the moment the woman with the pile of papers in her hand, probably forms from Blaine’s time away, had a lot more information about Blaine than  _Darren_  did.    
  
Darren had never been in a therapists office before. His knowledge of how the mental health profession operated was pretty much limited to watching reruns of television shows. He wasn’t exactly confident in his insight. And he couldn’t really ever fully understand Blaine’s headspace. Intellectually, he could understand the concept of anorexia or bulimia. But emotionally, he didn’t understand how refusing to eat could make a person feel any better. Or more in control. Darren  _liked_  food.  _A lot_. Darren thought back. As far as he knew, none of his friends from Glee had ever seen a psychiatrist. At least they had not done so and then mentioned it to him. Then again, there was still such a stigma around mental disorders. For all he knew, he could have friends carrying these problems around in secret, scared to let anyone in. Darren suddenly found himself wishing very much that he could call Chris. Or Riker. He tried to reason with himself. Blaine was really nothing like Darren. There was no real reason to start fearing for his friends. There was no reason to associate them with their characters problems. Chris was not Kurt. Riker  _certainly_  wasn’t Jeff. But he really wished he could speak to the actors at that moment. For his own peace of mind.  
  
“You can take a seat where you like,” Ms. Hirsch offered.  
  
Darren surveyed the space. The room was fairly long. There was a desk at the far end, two chairs facing it. Against one wall was a couch, and across from the couch were two upholstered chairs. A row of bookcases and filing cabinets lined the left wall.  _Why did she give me a choice? Does it matter where I sit? Is she going to infer something from whether I choose the couch or chair?_  Darren suspected he was probably overthinking things. But he didn’t want to make the wrong choice.  _Maybe I’m not as well adjusted as I think. I thinking I’m starting to exhibit signs of paranoia…_  
  
He decided to go with the couch. That way he could look at the wall of books behind her as well. If he sat one of the chairs, he would be staring at a blank wall.  _And then I would have to decide which chair to choose…_ yeah. Definitely the couch. He sat and looked blankly at the woman. Ms. Hirsch was probably in her late thirties or early forties. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid and she was wearing a stylish brown pantsuit. Darren could picture her on Glee. She had a style and graceful beauty that would play well for the camera. Of course, Dalton probably went out looking for the perfect doctor to meet their elite expectations.. Dalton didn’t strike him as a school that would accept anything but the best, both in credentials and appearance. Rich people could be kind of shallow.  
  
Ms. Hirsch took the chair opposite Darren and smiled at him. “Hello, Blaine. How are you doing today?”  
  
Darren shrugged. “Ok.” He decided he was going to stick with an approach of saying as little as possible. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think Blaine would probably be feeling pretty uncomfortable, and not very forthcoming. Darren was going to keep his mouth shut and hopefully not insert his foot in there. It wasn’t like he could express how Blaine was feeling.  _He had no idea how Blaine was feeling._  
  
Ms. Hirsch didn’t seem bothered by his reluctance. “I know a lot has happened in the last few weeks for you, Blaine, and you’re probably wondering what’s going to happen now. I’d like to give you a little information about myself and what my purpose at Dalton is, and what you can expect from us, ok?”  
  
Darren nodded.  
  
Ms. Hirsch explained, “I’m the resident psychiatrist for Dalton. What that means is that I have medical degree and can prescribe and monitor medications for students. I’m usually the first person a student is referred to for mental health issues here at Dalton. I evaluate the students needs and then we decide what the next step should be. That could involve regular sessions with myself, Mr. Marvin, or, in some cases, an outside source who is better equipped to deal with specific areas. We will also decide if medication is a practical option. I want you to know this is a two way street of communication, here. The best way for you to recover is to be an active participant in your own treatment. If you have any questions, concerns, or problems at all, I want you to feel that you can come talk to me about them. The more you can be open an honest about how you are feeling, or what you are thinking, the easier it will be to come up with a good plan to help you, ok?”  
  
Darren nodded.  _You talk a good game. I hope you’re sincere. These kids need someone in their corner._  
  
“I realize it’s a lot to take in right now. And you may not be feeling particularly trusting, considering how many directions you have been pulled in the last couple of weeks. I know you mentioned that first night in the hospital after you were taken out of Warbler’s practice that you were very concerned that the things you said would be repeated to your father. My profession and I myself take our code of ethics very seriously. There are even laws in place to protect the confidentiality of what a patient tells us. Whatever you say to me or any of the staff here in this department is treated with the utmost discretion. Your father can not just call up and demand that we divulge what you tell us to him, all right? There are a couple of things we are required to report, such as if we know you plan to hurt someone else or cause permanent injury to yourself. But the things you confide in us will not be repeated to anyone else.”  
  
Interesting, Darren mused. It appeared Blaine had a pretty major fear that his father would find out what Blaine had been saying to the staff. After hearing the various Warbler’s disparaging comments about the man, it sounded to Darren like Blaine’s dad was a selfish control freak. Darren wondered if Blaine’s right to privacy had been honored where he had been those three weeks. It sounded like maybe his father was trying to micromanage what Blaine said. And to who. If Darren didn’t still hold out hope that he would eventually get out of Not!Dalton and find his way home, he would probably have had Blaine start giving speeches. And making internet videos. And announcing to everyone he came into contact with that discrimination, and adults who put their own interests ahead of their children’s, and parents who would endanger their children’s health and well-being just to save face should not be tolerated in this day and age. But Darren couldn’t do any of that. Because Blaine would eventually drop back into his own life. Darren wanted to start a crusade. Blaine just wanted to get through high school without completely losing himself to his demons. So Darren would bite his tongue and behave himself.   
  
“So, what happens now?” he asked, wondering what this woman’s plans to put Blaine back together again were.   
  
“Right now you’re still going through a period of readjustment,” Ms. Hirsch explained. “One of the reasons we didn’t see you yesterday was because we wanted to give you a little time to get settled back in. Even though Dalton is familiar, the fact that your perceptions of yourself and possibly other people’s of you have changed may take some getting used to. We did put certain precautions in place to ensure things would go as smoothly as possible for you. And several of your friends from Glee have been banging my door down asking how to help. Don’t be afraid to let them in Blaine, they seem like really good friends to have. But now that you’re back, we are going to need to come up with a treatment plan for you. I’ve gone through some of the notes that were sent here from Horizons. But I would like to get my own opinion on things with your insight and consideration, rather than relying on the notes from the clinic. Today is basically a first consultation. There’s a lot of ground we’re going to cover, but we don’t need to do it all today. Monday when I see you again we will sit down and discuss some things. In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with a couple questions I want you to think about. We’ll talk about them and what they mean and how certain forms of therapy can help on Monday. First, what would you like to get out of therapy? Ideally, what do you want to take away from the experience? Not what does your dad want, or or friends, but  _you_? How do you want to be able to feel, or to respond to things, and secondly, what can you determine in your life right now that is holding you back? What makes it hard to be or do what you want? Ok? Can you do that for me?”  
  
Darren supposed those were reasonable questions. He nodded. Something was still troubling him though with the whole session. Ms. Hirsch seemed to notice his hesitation. Maybe she was more astute than he was giving her credit for. “Something you want to ask, Blaine?” she inquired.  
  
Darren tried to figure out how to phrase the question. “You’re going to just let me go without trying to do something about whether or not I eat?” he asked.  _Wasn’t that the whole point?_  Ms. Hirsch smiled. “I’m glad you’re concerned with your own health. And we will be implementing a plan to help you with that. Right now, imposing strict rules or demands isn’t going to help you. It didn’t at Horizons. And I know you actually  _have_ eaten since you’ve gotten back. I’m pleased you’ve accomplished as much as you have. If you find yourself struggling anytime at all, the door is always open for you. And the email we sent out with the appointment times on it also has an emergency number you can call 24/7. And you have a built in support system with your Warblers. I have no doubt you’ll probably find several of them underfoot the majority of the time.” She looked vaguely amused by the Warbler Response Team’s efforts.   
  
“ _I know you actually have eaten._..” Darren suspected that at least a few of the Warbler’s were keeping tabs on Blaine and reporting back to Ms. Hirsch on his eating habits. They would be the only ones who knew exactly what he was eating. He couldn’t really find fault with them. They seemed to have Blaine’s best interests at heart. And it sounded like forcing Blaine to account for his own food intake would be too much pressure for him, at least for the moment. Let the Warbler’s take the burden off of him. Ms. Hirsch seemed content to finish their session there, so Darren took the opportunity to take his leave. Thanking the doctor for her time, he exited the room, mind already moving on the the next problem to be addressed. He found Nick still sitting in the waiting room. The door to Mr. Marvin’s office was still closed.  
  
“Have you heard anything about Jeff yet?”


	24. Chapter 24

Nick looked up at Darren’s question. “Jeff is still in there,” he explained. “I’m worried what they will decide.”  
  
Darren took the chair next to him. “What do you expect them to do?” he asked.  
  
Nick shrugged. “I’m really not sure. He’s had setbacks before. But not to this degree. And not that he’s hidden from me. At least not that I know of. But then, I didn’t know about this one either, until I walked right into it. Maybe he doesn’t trust me as much as I thought he did…”  
  
Darren was interrupted before he could come up with a reply by a subdued voice from the direction of the therapist’s office.  
  
“I do trust you, Nick. More than anyone else, that’s for sure. I just wasn’t ready to give this up yet. But don’t think I don’t trust you. I do.” Jeff had come out of the office just in time to hear Nick’s concern.   
  
“What did they say?” Nick looked nervous. Jeff looked drained.   
  
“They think I probably need to adjust my medication. The depression is worse than it has been. And even when I’m up, I’m not happy, I’m irritated and anxious. They’re going to set up an appointment with my old psychiatrist. They figure he has the history, he can make the best choices for changes. If adjusting the medication doesn’t help with the impulses to cut, they’ll look into putting me back into DBT as well.”  
  
Darren understood about half of that conversation. Nick didn’t seem confused by any of it though. “They’re going to let you stay, though?” Nick wanted reassurance.  
  
Jeff nodded. “For the moment. They called my mom and had a long discussion with her. I convinced them I’m not suicidal. Just miserable. They’re putting me on watch, though.”  
  
“I figured they would,” Nick said.  
  
“On watch?” Darren asked.  
  
“Yeah,” Jeff said, “That’s what we call it, anyway. They’ll let me stay, but they want to be kept aware of what’s going on. I have to stop by every morning and prove I haven’t slit my wrists in the night or something.” Jeff sounded slightly exasperated.  
  
“Jeff!” Nick sounded horrified.  
  
Jeff sighed. His gaze softened as he looked at Nick. “Sorry, sorry. That was insensitive. I’m careful, Nick. That’s not going to happen again. But I find it annoying. I don’t need a babysitter.” He turned to Darren. “And they’ll expect Nick to keep an eye out. Usually they would have a Floor Monitor do it, and probably stick me in with some Senior who agreed to watch over the students on their floor because it would look good on a college application, but Nick already has a history with me. And my mom specifically requested him.”  
  
Nick shuddered. “Besides, Hunter is on our floor. That guy wouldn’t know tact or empathy if they hit him over the head.”  
  
Jeff shrugged. “He’s not so bad. I’ll admit he needs to relax, and he’s  _way_  too high strung, and not particularly nice most of the time, but I don’t mind him. He’s actually been helpful to me without even knowing it a few times. I think there’s actually a heart somewhere under there. Don’t worry, I still prefer you though, Nick.”  
  
“Of course you do,” Nick confirmed, “I’m awesome.”  
  
Darren grinned. “And modest.”  
  
“To a fault.” Jeff nodded wisely. Then ruined the effect by sticking his tongue out at Nick.  
  
“So,” Nick began, “was Ms. Hirsch any help to you, Blaine? You can tell me to shut up if you aren’t comfortable answering that though.”  
  
Darren considered. “I…think so? We didn’t discuss that much yet. Monday we’re going to talk options more.”  
  
“Yeah, it takes a while to get things sorted when you first begin,” Jeff said.  
  
“Hey, they didn’t make you sign a No-Harm contract, did they Jeff?” Nick looked worried.  
  
Jeff shook his head. “No.  _They_  weren’t that stupid. I think a lot of places have finally come to the realization those are a terrible idea. They did write up a safety plan, but thats ok. And they’re going to write me an exit pass if I need it.”  
  
“Exit pass?” Darren was getting sick of terms he didn’t understand.  
  
“Like a get out of class free card. If I’m anywhere, including in class, and I feel like I’m in or headed for a headspace where I won’t be able to resist cutting, I can use the pass and leave no questions asked and go straight to the guidance office. Then I don’t have to explain  _why_  to a teacher in front of a whole bunch of students. There are a few teachers who can’t get a hint and would demand a reason. This is meant to be a protection from situations that will trigger me into self harming.”  
  
 _Makes sense.._.“and safety plans?”  
  
“The next generation of No-Harm contracts,” Jeff explained. “And a much better idea. No-Harm contracts are basically just what they sound like. They write up a paper saying you agree not to hurt yourself and make you sign it. But they’re  _stupid_. A piece of paper isn’t going to stop me from wanting to cut. It isn’t going to change the fact that sometimes that’s the  _only_  thing that helps. The contract isn’t meant to help  _me_ , it’s meant to make  _them_  feel better as far as I can tell. And if you break the contract you’re basically penalized and punished. They are a horrible idea. All they ever did was make me try harder to hide when I cut so I wouldn’t get in trouble. It made honest discussion _impossible_. Safety plans are much better. They basically list alternatives to use. And when you sign you’re agreeing to try to use the alternatives first. Call someone, go to the guidance office, find substitutes or distractions. But if you fail it’s not the end of the world. They want you to be able to admit if you do fail, so they can treat what you’ve done if necessary. And you won’t ever be punished for it. There might be consequences, but not punishment.”  
  
“That seems like a smarter idea,” Darren agreed.  
  
“It is,” Nick said. “I still think half the reason it got so bad before Dalton was once our old school realized what Jeff was doing they made him sign a contract or risk getting kicked out. But they didn’t offer  _help._  He had to hide everything from everyone if he didn’t want to get expelled. Which is moronic. While the kids who tortured us got to wander around like nothing ever happened!”  
  
Jeff shook his head. “It’s over now. Don’t get yourself worked up Nick. Dalton does a better job than those idiots ever did. It’s Ok.”  
  
“ _Pavarotti_  would have done a better job. And he’s a  _bird_.” Nick muttered to himself.  
  
Jeff laid a hand on Nick’s arm. “Let’s go back to the room,” he suggested. Nick nodded and stood. He turned to Darren. “You coming?”  
  
Darren half suspected he was under ‘watch’ too. By the entire Warbler club. But he figured he could head in the same direction with the boys unless something else presented itself. Darren nodded. “Let’s go.”


	25. Chapter 25

Darren followed Nick and Jeff all the way back to the residential building. Trent, Sebastian, Hunter, and David were all occupying the common room. Trent and David were engaged in some form of card game. Or, rather, they appeared to be involved in a fair amount of heated discussion and animated gesturing, while both waving around an absurd amount of cards in their hands. Darren was only assuming there was actually some sort of game involved as well.  
  
Nick and Jeff headed back towards their room. Darren made eye contact with Nick and nodded in the direction of one of the chairs in the common room. Nick nodded back and mouthed “We’ll be in Wes’ room at 6:30” and continued on his way. Darren sat in the chair and turned his attention to observing the boys around him.  
  
Sebastian and Hunter were watching the television. Hunter was flipping slowly through channels while Sebastian vetoed every one, though usually not before making a completely inappropriate comment first. Darren couldn’t for the life of him figure those two out. Hunter’s attitude should have been much more grating on everyone’s nerves than it actually seemed to be. He was high strung and on edge and bossy, and yet, no one seemed that bothered by it. Glee’s Hunter had been an extremely bad influence on the Warbler’s. He led to their ultimate downfall and the New Directions second chance. This Hunter could be just as abrasive. And yet, at the same time, as far as Darren had been able to observe, the other boys seemed to actually  _like_  him more than simply  _tolerate_  him. It left Darren baffled.    
  
And then there was Sebastian. Who was simultaneously  _exactly like_ , and  _completely opposite_  his Glee counterpart. He was witty. And sarcastic. And slightly abrasive. He had a bit of an air of entitlement about him, like he knew exactly where he came from and considered most people as beneath him. The running commentary of innuendo was definitely still there. And yet, at the same time, there was something…different. Darren couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he had the impression than the Sebastian he was seeing was somehow an  _act_. A defense mechanism, maybe? Like maybe Sebastian was trying just a little too  _hard_  to offend people.  _That was it_ , Darren realized, he’s being offensive without  _actually offending_  anyone. Sebastian on Glee had come a long way from the insensitive jerk who had inadvertently injured Blaine, but there was still the memory of a boy who didn’t hesitate to say mean and spiteful things to people. This Sebastian hadn’t actually said anything  _mean_  to an  _actual person_  as far as Darren could remember. He would say insensitive and sexually inappropriate things, but directed in generalities, not directed at specific people.   
  
Even the flirting was different, Darren realized. The only person Sebastian really seemed to direct it towards was Hunter. Who had shot him down every time. With a lot more patience than Darren would have expected him to have, now that he thought about it. Hunter seemed mildly exasperated but surprisingly tolerant of Sebastian. Who had to know Hunter wasn’t interested. Why was he focusing on the  _straight_  guy? Was there more to it? Darren didn’t really think there was anything reciprocal there. Hunter didn’t seem like he was in the closet. He seemed like he genuinely  _wasn’t interested_. And even when he had been making comments about Blaine, or Nick or Jeff, Sebastian hadn’t really been flirting with any of them, he had been using them to throw innuendos out, but there didn’t seem to be a genuine desire to so much as hook up with any of them. Other than Hunter, Darren didn’t remember Sebastian actually even  _touching_  anyone else.  
  
Eventually, Hunter landed on a channel that Sebastian didn’t reject. Somewhere in the course of the next hour Sebastian ended up sprawled over the couch again, feet planted in Hunter’s lap like they were during the Warbler’s meeting the day before. Hunter didn’t bother to move them. Darren gave up trying to understand the dynamic between the two of them. He figured it would just give him a headache. He glanced back at Trent and David’s card game. It hadn’t improved any. Currently both boys had their cell phones out, and were furiously typing into them. The cards were strewn across the table to the point where Darren had no idea how either of them would know which cards belonged to which boy. “Ok, I have to ask,” Darren started, “ _what_  are you doing?  _Please_  tell me you’re not texting  _each other_?”  
  
David looked up from his mad typing spree. “No, we’re googling the rules to this stupid game! Wikipedia says two or more people can play, but I don’t see how just two people can play. You can’t bluff when you’re playing with the whole deck and every card you don’t have the other player does. They know if you have the cards or not! And it doesn’t even say when you’re supposed to bluff, even though it says clearly right here bluffing is part of the game!”  
  
Trent looked scandalized. “We’re missing something! Wikipedia wouldn’t let us down! There is a way to make this work. It isn’t all just a matter of who gets the wrong card first!”  
  
Darren wasn’t going to argue the validity of a Wikipedia article. If Trent didn’t know any better yet, Darren probably couldn’t persuade him. “What game are you playing?”  
  
“Old Maid,” David stated.  
  
_Isn’t that a child’s game?_  
  
Sebastian apparently had the same thought. “Isn’t that a kid’s game? With, like, a special deck with pictures on it? Are you using  _regular_  cards?”  
  
Trent started gesturing wildly with his phone again. “Wikipedia says you can use a regular deck and just remove one of the cards. We used to play it at home with my cousin. We used a regular deck. David didn’t believe me when I said you didn’t need a special deck. I said I’d prove him wrong. But I’m used to playing it with more than one other person! I’m confused by two player mode!”  
  
“You make it sound like an X-Box game,” David muttered with a laugh.   
  
“You know what I mean!” Trent countered.  
  
“Very rarely,” David responded.  
  
Darren was watching the conversation spiral with a vague sense that he should probably say something. Sebastian beat him to it. “Trent,” he asked, “how old exactly was your cousin you were playing this with?”  
  
“Six,” Trent responded, “what does that matter?”  
  
Sebastian outright laughed at him. “The two of you have spent the last two and a half hours fighting over how to play a game that your  _six_  year old cousin has mastered?”  
  
“Only with more than two people playing!” Trent insisted.  
  
The conversation probably would have circled around several more times with no sucessful conclusion if Wes hadn’t chosen that moment to make an appearance in the room. “Movie night will begin soon. You better all get your dinner and snacks and everything you need and get to my room by 6:30. If you’re late, there will be consequences!” Wes’ exited the room, leaving a wake of slowly rising Warbler’s behind him.  _He totally sounds like a mother hen_. “Best get going,” Trent acknowledged. “The last time someone was late, Wes made them write an apology. In song form. And then sing it to the group.”  
  
“He called it a creativity building exercise,” David supplied.  
  
“He’s out of his mind with power,” Sebastian grumbled. “They never should have let him have that gavel.”   
  
“You only say that because you were the one who was late,” Hunter added helpfully.  
  
Sebastian flipped him off casually and wandered out the door, muttering under his breath.  
  
“I love you too, Cupcake!” Hunter called out after him.  
  
Darren once again wondered what on earth he did that justified dumping him in the middle of this insane place. And exactly  _what_  would get him back out again?


	26. Chapter 26

Darren arrived at Wes’ room at 6:23, arms heavy with bags of chips and dip and assorted other items Trent had appeared from nowhere with and ordered him to take to the dorm. Darren figured it was another not so subtle way for the Warbler’s to keep watch on exactly how much Blaine was eating. His suspicions were pretty much confirmed when he walked into the room to find the majority of the other Warbler’s already there, with seemingly the entire contents of the Dalton kitchen spread out on various surfaces in the room. Then again, this could be their normal Saturday Night Movie dinner. Teen boys weren’t typically known for their dainty, selective eating habits.   
  
Darren wondered if Blaine would have felt overwhelmed had  _he_  been the one to walk in to find food everywhere. There was no question the boys meant well, but Darren had no idea what Blaine needed, and he doubted any of them were too sure either. He wished he could look at Blaine’s school records. Especially the medical ones. Exactly how severe were Blaine’s problems? The staff seemed content to leave him be until Monday, so he figured they had some faith in Blaine’s ability to cope on his own. But then there were those three missing weeks…Darren figured he would just eat lightly but enough to keep everyone happy. He didn’t want to chance overdoing it and making himself sick. He wasn’t sure how this whole switch thing had worked. Was he in his own body, or Blaine’s? He didn’t feel that different from normal, and if his stomach was in a slightly upset state most of the time, he figured it was probably as much from nerves as anything else. But if he was in Blaine’s body, and it wasn’t accustomed to a lot of food at once, he wasn’t going to overtax it and end up throwing up. The rest of the Warbler’s would definitely get the wrong idea if that happened.  
  
Darren set his contributions to the snack table down and put a couple pieces of rolled up turkey and cheese on a plate with apple slices. He settled himself down in a chair in the room, looking around to see who was already there.  
  
Wes appeared to have a single room. For some reason, that surprised Darren. Somehow, he had just assumed he was rooming with David. But the space where the extra bed would have been was taken up by a futon and a couple of chairs. Wes was in the same building as Darren, but a couple floors up. Maybe he was this floor’s Monitor, and that entitled him to a single room? It would make sense, if Hunter was their floor’s, that Wes, also a Senior, and a member of the Warbler’s council, would be considered appropriate for the job on his floor. In any case, it did leave more sitting space in his room for all the boys to gather.  
  
Wes and David were seated on either side of Wes’ full size bed, backs against the headboard. Thad was sprawled out on his stomach between the two of them, head propped up on elbows as he watched the television screen. Hunter and Sebastian were once again settled together, both on the futon. Sebastian, however, had curled himself into a corner, instead of sprawling on Hunter like usual. Watching them both, Darren caught Hunter’s eyes repeatedly shifting towards Sebastian. He looked slightly concerned. _Please, don’t let that mean any more drama…I’m at my limit here…_  
  
Trent was seated in the other chair. He grinned easily at Blaine and tilted his head in Wes’ direction, stage whispering, “Nick and Jeff have two minutes. Let’s hope they make it. Otherwise, Wes will get the gavel out, and our whole evening will be ruined!”  
  
Wes glared in his direction. “I heard that!”  
  
Hunter looked up from his not so successful attempts to stare subtly at Sebastian and announced flatly, “Jeff’s having a hard time right now. Do  _not_  stress him out, Montgomery.”  
  
Wes looked offended. “I know he is. I’m not going to set him off, relax. I gave Nick and Jeff permission to come when Jeff was ready. So no rules will be broken if they are later than 6:30. Besides,  _you’re_  the least tactful person I know! If anyone should be told not to stress Jeff out, it should be you!”  
  
Hunter didn’t look impressed. “I know what’s going on in his head better than you do. I’m not going to trigger him. Now stop arguing. You’re annoying Thad.”  
  
Thad dropped his head down from his vantage point onto the bed and announced into the comforter, “I’m not getting involved. Leave me out of it!”  
  
Wes shook his head at Hunter. “See, I’m not annoying Thad.”  
  
“He had a headache,” Hunter announced. “You’re too loud. You’re annoying him.”  
  
Thad blearily raised his head back up. “How do you do that? I took Tylenol fifteen minutes ago. Sometimes I swear you’re clairvoyant.”  
  
“Clairvoyant Clarington,” Jeff announced, walking into the room with Nick just in time to hear the last statement, and narrowly avoid being even “unofficially” late. “It has a certain ring to it.”  
  
Hunter snorted. “I’m observant, not psychic. He’s been laying on the bed with his hands on his head since he got here.”  
  
David lightly placed his hand on Thad’s back. “Are you all right? Do you want to go back to the room?”  _Which would make those two the roommates…_  
  
Thad shook his head gingerly. “It’s just a tension headache. It will go away.”  
  
Nick and Jeff settled on the floor in front of the bed. Jeff looked tired and sad. Darren caught Nick’s eye’s and mouthed “Is he ok?” at him.  
  
Nick nodded subtly. Darren figured Jeff was really lucky to have a friend as devoted and loyal as Nick. And with Kurt’s arrival becoming more imminent each day, Darren was glad Jeff’s well being was being overseen by his best friend and the staff. Not that he didn’t want to help, but he was really hoping helping Kurt would be his ticket home. At which point there would hopefully be a system of support in place for Jeff, Blaine, and probably Kurt as well.  
  
Darren turned his attention to the movie as it started. It was some action flick that Darren vaguely remembered seeing previews for months ago. Apparently it had just made it’s way to DVD here. Darren wished he had seen the original. He couldn’t remember who the actors who were supposed to play in it were, but somehow, the movie seemed just slightly off from his memory of the trailer. Like maybe one of the main characters had been played by someone else. Darren wondered what change in this world led to the difference in casting. And why that movie still existed, while Dalton turned out to be a  _real_  place. If he kept that thinking process up, Thad wouldn’t be the only one with a tension headache. Darren spent the next couple hours just sitting back and watching. Watching the movie, and watching the boys.  
  
Most were pretty engrossed in the movie. But Darren did notice a few things. Jeff was constantly fiddling with his sleeves, or slowly rubbing at his arms. Darren didn’t think he was aware of the behavior, but figured the urges probably were still pretty strong after the whole conversation Jeff had to have earlier with the therapist. Nick was still curled up tight next to him silently offering strength. Sebastian hadn’t moved from his spot the whole night. He didn’t seem particularly focused on the movie either. He just kind of stared off into space like his mind was a million miles away. It was slightly creepy. Hunter was still keeping an eye on Sebastian. He had pretty much given up on being subtle about it as well. Sebastian didn’t seem aware enough to notice him. Hunter also kept glancing over towards Darren himself. Whether that was due to Darren’s own attention on Hunter and Sebastian, or something else, Darren couldn’t begin to guess.   
  
It wasn’t until the movie was almost over that Hunter spoke again. “Hey, Blaine, when the movie’s over, I have a question for you. Stick around for a minute?”  
  
_Interesting…_ “Sure, Hunter.” Darren responded.  
  
_What could he want?_


	27. Chapter 27

Within a half hour of the movie’s end, most of the boys had filtered back to their own rooms. Hunter gestured towards the door and Darren followed him. Hunter stopped in the doorway and called quietly back into the room towards Sebastian, who was still sitting zoned out on the futon. Darren hadn’t expected Hunter could sound as gentle as he did as Sebastian turned blankly in his direction.   
  
“Seb, I need to talk to Blaine a minute about tomorrow, ok? I’ll be in the room in a minute. Wait for me?”  
  
Sebastian just nodded and walked out of the door and down the hallway. Darren watched with some concern.  
  
“Is he all right?”  
  
Hunter gazed down the hallway after Sebastian’s retreating figure. “He’s all right. He thinks too much sometimes about things he would rather forget. He’ll be fine.” He looked back at Darren.  
  
“Blaine, I have a favor to ask of you. You’ve heard we have a new student starting at Dalton Monday? Kurt? He’ll be joining the Warblers. He’s arriving tomorrow to move in and get settled before classes start Monday. He’ll be staying in the single room on our floor, since I’ve got a double with Sebastian. He’ll need someone to show him around and tell him what to expect. Normally I would do that, but I have a prior appointment in town tomorrow with Sebastian. I won’t have time. Will you do it?”  
  
 _Um, yeah, I would be thrilled to do it… but how did this just fall into my lap so easily? What is going on here?_  Hunter had just handed Darren what he needed on a proverbial silver platter. Darren hadn’t expected getting to Kurt to be quite so  _easy_. He had almost expected them to try to keep him _away_  from Kurt, not wanting anything new to stress him out. Why on earth was Hunter going to  _him_  to show Kurt around? Wouldn’t one of the other Warbler’s have been a better choice?  
  
He really shouldn’t ask. He should accept Hunter’s offer and just be happy his plans to help Kurt were being handed to him so easily. But he just didn’t get it. Things did not work out this way. It wasn’t the nature of reality. Even the weird reality he was currently inhabiting. And he really needed to know what made Hunter go to Blaine. He was going to ask. He would probably kick himself after, but his inquisitive mind wasn’t going to let this go. He was probably an idiot…  
  
“I would be happy to, Hunter, don’t get me wrong, but is there a particular reason you asked  _me_  to do it? Any of the others probably would have been just as willing…”  
  
Hunter cocked his head to the side and just kind of  _looked_  at Darren for a few seconds. Darren found is disconcerting. It was almost like Hunter was searching for something. Like he was trying to look straight  _into_  him. Whatever he was looking for, he must have found it. Hunter sighed.  
  
“Blaine, I think this could be good for both of you. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m sure you would be fine on your own. But Trent has to go home for the day tomorrow, and I don’t like to think about you alone in that room with your thoughts all day. This would be a good distraction. And I also think you could be good for Kurt.”  
  
Darren blinked. “What do you mean?”  
  
Hunter looked cautious, like he was afraid of saying to much. “Last weekend I met Kurt briefly when his father brought him to Dalton to register and take a look around. I played tour guide. And as the monitor for the floor he’ll be on, there were a couple of things that I was made aware of. Not a lot, but enough for me to think maybe you would be the best person to understand his circumstances. And know how to put him at ease. He’s an emergency transfer in the middle of the school term who somehow ended up in the one single room on the floor even though there are doubles available elsewhere. What does that tell you?”  
  
 _That he doesn’t feel safe. And he can’t handle a roommate right now. Oh, God. Karofsky. What if without Blaine, things went even further than they did on the show? What happened to Kurt here?_  
  
Darren felt sick. “That something bad happened to him.”  
  
Hunter shrugged. “I don’t know what, but I figure something must have.” His tone softened. “And after your experiences with the Sadie Hawkins Dance, and everything else, I figured you would be the best at knowing how to relate to him and not freak him out. I could have chosen someone else, but Jeff is too vulnerable himself right now, Nick has to stay with Jeff while he’s still on watch , Wes can be kind of intense, David doesn’t know when he needs to just back off and let someone have space, and Thad and Trent won’t be around.”  
  
 _Why do you have so much faith in Blaine’s ability to cope? You aren’t concerned that this could be too much for him?_  
  
“You can help him, Blaine. And I think maybe he can help you.”  
  
 _Huh, maybe he really is a mind reader._  
  
“I’ll do it, Hunter. It’s fine.”  
  
Hunter smiled at him. “Thank you Blaine. This will be good. We need Kurt comfortable so we can be a cohesive unit in time for Sectionals. Do you  _know_  what a countertenor can do for us?”  
  
 _Oh, there we go. And here I had almost thought you were doing this out of a genuine concern for Kurt. I should have known._  Sometimes Darren thought  _this_  Hunter was actually a decent person. And then glimpses of manipulative  _Glee_  Hunter would pop through. Or maybe Darren was just reading too much into things. If he hadn’t known Glee’s Hunter, he probably wouldn’t have assumed his only interest was in the competition. There was just something  _off_  about the boy. Darren couldn’t put his finger on exactly  _what_  it was though.  
  
“Kurt should be in the admissions office at 10:30. You can meet him there and show him to his room and the rest of the campus. Don’t let the other guys scare him off. I need him.”  
  
Darren rolled his eyes. “It will be fine, Hunter. I’ll take care of Kurt. You should go check on Sebastian.”  
  
Hunter nodded. “He’s going to talk to me tomorrow if it’s the last thing he does. Idiot.” Despite the words, the look on Hunter’s face was affectionate.  
  
Darren watched him walk down the hall towards his room.  _Why is he rooming with Sebastian instead of in a single anyway? What is going on between those two? What happened to Kurt? How am I going to help him? God, I wish I could talk to Chris…_


	28. Chapter 28

Darren woke up Sunday morning, jittery and anxious, and simultaneously completely impatient for 10:30 to come so he could meet Kurt, and so anxious about the meeting that he was actually physically sick to his stomach. Across the room, Trent was involved in his own mini freakout on Blaine’s behalf.   
  
“Are you sure you’re up to this? Why would Hunter have shoved this off on you? It’s  _his_ responsibility! Are you sure it isn’t too much for you? I could see if Nick and Jeff want to do it! You don’t need the stress. Why does Hunter need to leave with Sebastian anyway? Sebastian has a car!”  
  
Darren patiently listened to Trent rant. He was regretting ever telling Trent his plans for the day. When Trent paused for air, Darren interjected, “Trent! Relax! It’s fine. I’m fine. I can handle showing a new kid around for a day. I’m not going to break.”  
  
Trent didn’t look convinced. “Maybe I should just stay too. We could both show Kurt around! We could make a day of it.”  
  
“Trent…you need to go see your family. Besides, it’s Kurt’s first day here. And it doesn’t sound like he’s had a easy time. He doesn’t need lots of people descending on him at once.” Darren softened his tone. “Have a little faith in me, yeah?”  
  
Trent looked stubborn. “I know it will be fine. But I’m always going to worry. You’re my _best_  friend. I just want everything to go all right. Is that so bad?”  
  
“I know you do. But you can’t control everything. Eventually you’re going to have to let me handle things myself.”  
  
Trent wrapped his arms around Darren and clung. Darren suspected the hug was for Trent’s benefit, not Blaine’s. His voice was muffled against Darren’s skin. “I know you can handle things yourself. But someday you’re going to learn that you don’t  _have_  to. I know you’ll be fine without me for a day. But just remember, I’m only a phone call away.”  
  
Darren hugged Trent back. He felt for him. Blaine probably hadn’t considered how his actions would affect the other boys. Not that Blaine would have been able to stop himself anyway. But Darren could see the worry and strain it had left on Trent.   
  
Trent stepped back. “Come with me to breakfast before I have to leave? Then you can head to the office.”  
  
The very last thing Darren wanted to do right now was eat. He really wasn’t sure if he could keep anything down. The stress of not knowing what to expect from Kurt had his stomach in knots. Trent wasn’t going to understand that though. Darren was going to have to force his way through breakfast if he wanted Trent to leave him alone. He sighed.  
  
“Yeah Trent, I’ll go with you.”  
  
Darren made his way to the dining hall and then through the breakfast line searching out anything that might not settle too heavy on his stomach. A couple of pieces of toast, a banana, and a glass of apple juice later, Darren had successfully convinced Trent that he could leave for the day without Dalton and/or Blaine falling apart in his absence.   
  
Trent finally left, but not before extracting multiple promises from Darren to text Trent during the day and let him know what was going on. Darren made his way back to his room. He had forty minutes before he needed to meet up with Kurt, and he needed to think.  
  
Darren stood in the bathroom in the dorm, trying valiantly to keep his breakfast settled in his stomach. He half expected if he actually lost it Warbler’s would appear out of the woodwork to stage an intervention. He was kind of surprised they had left him alone this long. Although he supposed there was more going on than just Blaine’s issues. Jeff and Nick and Hunter and Sebastian all had their own issues they were dealing with. Maybe they were just spread too thin. It worked out for Darren. He wanted time to think before he saw Kurt for the first time. He needed to get things straight in his own head.  
  
He didn’t know where to even  _begin_  with Kurt. He had virtually no knowledge to go on, other than Hunter’s cryptic statements. Which only told him Kurt was an emergency transfer, and he was rooming alone. Darren wondered what this universe’s Karofsky was like. The episodes around the kiss Karofsky had planted on Kurt…were horrifying. Darren could clearly remember his awe at Chris’ acting ability as Kurt’s fear and anger and helplessness reflected through in Chris’ eyes. But then, Karofsky had gone through such a change as a character. Considering how the plotline had progressed, and looking at things with 20/20 hindsight, Darren doubted Glee’s Karofsky would have actually sexually assaulted Kurt after that first impulsive kiss, though while the episodes were happening, it hadn’t seemed outside the realm of possibility.   
  
This universe though…Darren couldn’t have any expectations. There was so much that was so different. It was possible that Karofsky had kissed Kurt. It was possible he had done worse. It was also possible he hadn’t done anything beyond physical or even verbal abuse. Darren could pray for that to be the case, but in his experience, things had a tendency to take a turn for the worse in the Not!Dalton universe. And clearly something bad had happened. And without Blaine’s influence, how did Kurt end up in Dalton? What was his home life like? Was his father as awesome as on Glee? Were Finn and Carole in the picture? Darren probably should have googled McKinley or something. There had been mention of at least performance videos of Kurt online.  _Well, there’s not time now…_  
  
Darren was going to have to go into this completely blind. He couldn’t let past experiences on the show leave him assuming anything. He also had to be careful. Blaine did not know Kurt. Blaine knew nothing about McKinley. Or any of the members of New Directions. Darren would have to be careful not to let anything slip that Blaine should not know. And then he had to somehow befriend Kurt. As much trepidation as Darren was feeling, he knew it was time. He headed purposely out the door and towards the admissions office, hoping upon hope that this could be the beginning of him finding his way back home.


	29. Chapter 29

Darren entered the admissions office at 10:25. Kurt was already in the room, talking to the man behind the desk. Darren was nearly overwhelmed by the immediate sense of _familiarity_  and  _home_  that the simple sight of Kurt brought up in him. He probably should have expected it. The Dalton boys were all nice and similar enough to their television alter egos, but time and their guest star status had kept them distanced from Darren. It had been two seasons since his Blaine was a Warbler. And at the time, the boys didn’t exactly have a lot of screen presence. He could roll with what happened here with them because there wasn’t a lot to compare it to. Kurt, however, was an  _entirely_  different story.  
  
 Darren worked with  _Chris_  every day. He and Chris were in Blaine and Kurt’s headspace more than their  _own_  some days. Chris was one of Darren’s closest friends. Blaine was Kurt’s soulmate. The desire to connect with and the urge to protect Kurt were overpowering in Darren’s head. He didn’t know where they were coming from, but all he wanted was to wrap himself up in Kurt,  _or Chris, I want Chris_ , and explain what was going on, and make him _fix_  it. Chris would have. He would have been fascinated with the whole concept, most likely. And he probably would have a better idea of what to do. Darren missed him so much. He even missed his Kurt. His Kurt would have been there for Blaine. This Kurt didn’t even  _know_  Blaine. And looking at the boy sitting on a chair discussing class schedules, Darren could see this Kurt clearly wasn’t entirely matching up with Glee’s Kurt.  
  
The most striking difference was the clothes. Darren was used to Kurt wearing all sorts of unusual and highly expensive fashion choices. The Kurt in front of him was dressed simply, in dark colored dress pants and a button down shirt. Nothing Darren hadn’t seen on plenty of Dalton students when uniforms weren’t required, but not what he would expect of Kurt. He had paired it with a broach, and the belt he was wearing was probably a designer brand, but it still wasn’t flamboyant or daring in any way. Darren didn’t know what to make of that. Was this how he normally dressed? Was he in his “convince Dad I’m straight” phase? Was he trying to blend in? For all Darren knew, this Kurt  _was_ straight. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that this Kurt could be fundamentally different from Glee’s in many different ways. He didn’t know what to think.  
  
The man at the desk handed Kurt a file of papers, and gestured to Darren to enter the room all the way. He nodded towards Kurt.   
  
“Mr. Anderson, I understand you will be escorting Mr. Hummel to his dorm room, and then showing him around campus? He has his schedule, so if you would show him the classrooms so he will be prepared for tomorrow, I would appreciate it.” He turned towards Kurt. “If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the office. Mr. Anderson will show you around now.”  
  
Kurt nodded, clutching the folders in his hands. He looked warily at Darren. Darren felt Kurt sizing him up. Whatever he saw, he must have accepted, because Darren saw him relax marginally. Darren held his hand out to Kurt. “Blaine Anderson,” he introduced himself.  
  
Kurt took his hand briefly. “Kurt Hummel,” he responded, then retreated several steps, arms crossed defensively in front of his chest.   
  
Darren just smiled at him and tipped his head in the direction of the exit. “Shall we?” he asked.  
  
Kurt nodded and followed Darren out the door. Darren started leading the way towards the residence building. He had a million questions. And no clue how to ask any of them. He decided to start with the simplest. “Kurt, what room are you in? The number should be in that pile of papers.”  
  
Kurt rifled through the lists. “I’m in room 208.”  
  
Darren nodded. “You’re on my floor. I’ll show you where.”   
  
He led the way to the building and up to Kurt’s room. Darren found himself at a loss for words. He wanted to know  _everything_  about this boy. But he didn’t want to seem to forward, or too prying. Kurt seemed content enough to just walk in silence. Darren tried to watch him without being to obviously creepy about it. Kurt reminded him of the boy that had shown up hurt and scared at Dalton on Glee and fallen into a paradise of perfect schools and rock star singing groups and dapper young men. But Dalton wasn’t those things. Not really. The Warbler’s were well liked, sure, but the reverence Glee bestowed upon them was hardly realistic. The boys themselves were imperfect, each with their own faults, and several were deeply troubled. Kurt wasn’t going to find a utopia here. The best Darren could offer was a listening ear and an introduction to some well meaning Warblers. It would be so much easier if he knew what led Kurt to Dalton, though.  
  
Darren pointed out the room Kurt would be staying in. “Here you are. You’re rooming across from Nick and Jeff. I’m just down the hall on the left. Hunter is the floor monitor. He’s at the end of the hall. Sebastian rooms with him. You’ll meet them all later.”  _Slow down Darren…he won’t remember all those names anyway. Stop talking ahead of your brain._  
  
Kurt opened the door to the room. Darren watched as he waved Darren in first, then carefully did a visual sweep of the room. He kept the door propped open.  
  
_Interesting…_  
  
There were already boxes in the room. Darren watched Kurt sift through one of them.   
  
“Your stuff is already here? I thought you hadn’t been to the room before.”  
  
Kurt shook his head. “They took it while I was filling out the final paperwork. They said they would leave them in my room.”  
  
Darren grinned slightly. “Dalton has bell services?”  
  
Kurt tilted his head. “It does sound like a ritzy hotel, doesn’t it? Guess they don’t want all those doctors and lawyers children doing any heavy lifting.” He glanced at Darren and winced slightly. “Not that I’m inferring any of you are lazy. It’s just not what I’m used to. McKinley would probably steal your stuff and then charge you rent for storing it.”  
  
And there was an opening for a question. “McKinley was your old school?” Darren asked.  
  
Kurt nodded, looking uncomfortable. “Yes. I’ll miss my friends, but that’s it. The school itself aspires to educational mediocrity at it’s lowest.”  
  
Kurt still had a little bit of attitude in there. At least whatever happened hadn’t knocked it all out of him. Darren gestured around the room. “Do you want to unpack? Or do you want the grand tour, and come back to this later?”  
  
Kurt considered. “Last weekend when I was here one of the students showed me around a little. Hunter, I think? He was kind of weirdly…intense. I wouldn’t mind seeing the classrooms though. I’d like an idea of where I need to be tomorrow before classes actually start.”  
  
Darren nodded. “I can do that. And yeah, Hunter is kind of intense. But harmless. I think. He’ll be back later. You can meet the guys afterwards if you like.”   
  
Kurt shrugged. “Sure.”  
  
Darren figured he would show Kurt around, then introduce him to Nick and Jeff. Out of any of them, those two would probably be the best at assisting in putting him at ease. Given their own history, they would be careful with him. He was a little nervous about Hunter and Sebastian. Kurt had already picked up on Hunter’s moodiness. And Sebastian…if Kurt had been assaulted, Sebastian’s leering and suggestive remarks probably wouldn’t be received very well. Not to mention, they hadn’t exactly gotten along that well on Glee. Of course, they had both been after Blaine at that point. Things were different here.  
  
Darren headed out the door, Kurt following behind him. Darren started formulating questions and plans in his head. He was going to get Kurt to trust him and talk to him. _He had to. He just hoped it wouldn’t take the equivalent of half a season of Glee episodes to do it._


	30. Chapter 30

Darren led the way through the educational buildings, pointing out the rooms Kurt had indicated he had classes in. Darren didn’t think he was doing a very good job at telling Kurt what to expect, but considering he had only been through one day of classes here himself, and he didn’t even have many of the same classes as Kurt, he was pretty limited on what he could tell him. Darren was simply impressed with himself that he was familiar enough with the building to not accidentally lead Kurt to a broom closet or something thinking it was a classroom.  
  
Kurt trailed behind him quietly. Darren wasn’t having much luck getting him to engage. It was frustrating. He was so used to the easy banter between Kurt and Blaine that he had to constantly keep himself in check so his over familiarity didn’t creep Kurt out. He had to fight the urge to just grab him by the hand and say, “I know a shortcut,” and expect things to fall in place. Maybe it would have been better if he could have had a impromptu performance of the Warbler’s set to go in the chorus room. He doubted this Kurt would appreciate being dragged off anywhere. And half the Warbler’s weren’t even on campus at the moment.   
  
Darren finished up the tour of the school and mentioned to Kurt that he was going to head back to the dorm rooms if Kurt wanted to meet Nick and Jeff. Kurt just shrugged, but following dutifully behind him. Darren led the way, lost in his own thoughts. He really wished he knew what to say.  
  
“Are you humming Katy Perry?” Kurt was looking at him with something close to amusement.  
  
Darren stopped momentarily, considering. He  _had_  been. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he had unknowingly started humming Teenage Dream under his breath. He grinned at Kurt. “Yeah, I love Katy Perry. Teenage Dream is a great song! You should sing it with us the next time the Warbler’s meet.”  
  
Kurt looked down. “Yeah…about that. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to join the Warbler’s.”  
  
 _That_  more than anything convinced Darren that there was  _definitely_  something really wrong with this universe. Kurt lived and breathed music. It was unimaginable that Kurt would refuse to join. Unless there was something Darren couldn’t see holding him back. Darren bit back the automatic response to tell him that he  _had_  to join. That it was _ridiculous_  for him to even consider not joining. Kurt had to make the decision on his own ultimately. Darren could only try his best to keep him pointed in the right direction.  
  
Darren slowed his walking pace, carefully watching Kurt out of the corner of his eye. “That’s your decision, of course, but I hope you’ll at least think about it. We’ve seen videos online of you-”  
  
Darren cut off as Kurt shook his head and a barely perceptible shudder vibrated though him.  _What was that about?_  
  
-and then continued, “you’re very talented. And you have a voice that’s  _amazing._  You could really give us an edge over the competition. And the guys are really excited to meet you. I’m not saying you have to get up there and solo, actually, Hunter and Sebastian would probably fight you for it anyway, but just give us a chance?”  
  
Kurt shrugged. His voice was quiet when he finally spoke. “I’ll think about it. But right now, I just want to keep a low profile. I don’t need a lot of drama right now.”  
  
There was a lot behind those words that Darren didn’t know. He was sure of it. It hurt to see Kurt so subdued. He wasn’t used to a Kurt who wasn’t the loudest and boldest voice in the room. He had come a long way on Glee. But even when his character had first showed up at Dalton, hurt and scared by Karofsky, he hadn’t been this withdrawn. It made Darren worried.  _What happened at McKinley? Why are you here now?_  
  
Darren opened the door to the residence building and gestured for Kurt to enter. He smiled slightly. “I can’t promise no drama. You’ll see why when you meet the other Warbler’s. But they're  all good guys. Come on, I’ll introduce you to the guys across the hall from you.”  
  
He led the way to Nick and Jeff’s door and knocked. There was a loud crash and what sounded suspiciously like giggling from the other side of the closed door. Kurt raised his eyebrows at Darren. Darren shrugged. “I never said they were coordinated.”  
  
Nick pulled the door open and peered out. “Blaine! Did you bring our newest Warbler?”  
  
Darren nodded. “Well, I hope so. Nick, this is Kurt. Kurt, Nick.”  
  
Kurt smiled timidly at Nick. “Hello.”  
  
Nick stood to the side and gestured towards the room. “It’s nice to meet you. Come in. That over there is Jeff. Feel free to ignore him though. I’m not speaking to him. He got into my stash of pixie sticks. Which, number 1, I didn’t tell him he could eat, and number 2, sugar and Jeff aren’t necessarily a great combination. He gets slightly hyper and usually starts running into things.”  
  
Jeff pouted at him from across the room. “You love me anyway!” he asserted.  
  
Nick shrugged. “Yeah, despite myself. It’s a problem.”  
  
Kurt was watching the three of them, looking slightly bewildered. Darren didn’t blame him. Nick and Jeff left him bewildered sometimes too. And then Kurt went and threw him right back into Glee the TV show territory.   
  
“Um, can I ask you guys a question?”  
  
Darren’s head jerked up at the voice. He knew what was coming. The sense of deja vu was so strong he could almost picture himself back in front of the cameras that first week of shooting when Darren had still expected to just be a guest star for an episode or two. The tone of the question, the facial expression, was  _exactly_  like it had been on the show. Darren could have mimed the end of that question with ease. The difference was it was being posed to Blaine, Nick, and Jeff, not Blaine, Wes, and David.   
  
“Are…you guys all gay?”  
  
Actually, the question would have been easier to answer if it had been Blaine, Wes, and David. Darren still wasn’t sure about Nick and Jeff. Sebastian had said they claimed to be straight, hadn’t he? But there was a closeness and affection there that Darren could easily see leading people to assume they were a couple. Of course, the same could be said for himself and Chris. Darren elected to go with the simple answer and just speak for himself. Niff could come out or not on their own. “I am,” he acknowledged,  _well, Blaine is, but I’m pretending to be Blaine._  “But this isn’t a gay school. We just have a zero tolerance harassment policy. I’m assuming you knew about that though?”  
  
Kurt nodded. “Yeah, that’s why my dad and stepmom sent me here.”  
  
 _Stepmom…Carole?_  Darren filed that bit of information away.  
  
Nick offered, “We’re not gay. Despite what most people assume. I’m not dating Jeff. He’s my best friend. It doesn’t matter to us if  _you_  are though, if that’s what you’re worried about? If we seem really close it’s just because we’ve been through a lot together. And a word of advise? Whatever Sebastian tells you, about  _anyone_ , ignore 90% of it.”  
  
Kurt looked bewildered. “Ok….thanks?”  
  
Well, that answered  _that_  question for Darren anyway. He figured that Nick’s attempts to help Jeff through depressive or manic episodes and occurances of self harm were bound to make them pretty close. That wasn’t really something he could share with Kurt, though. Those weren’t his secrets to spill. Although it probably wouldn’t hurt for Kurt to know he wasn’t alone if he was struggling. There  _were_  people he could turn to to help. Somehow he would have to work that in.   
  
Nick glanced at his watch and then turned to the others. “Want to grab lunch? We can talk in the cafeteria. Sebastian and Hunter will probably be back fairly soon. We can introduce Kurt to the group.”  
  
Darren nodded. He knew Nick was just trying to make sure Blaine was staying regular with his eating habits. Nick’s natural concern for Jeff seemed to have morphed into a constant awareness of  _all_  the other Warbler’s needs. Darren would have thought it would be  _exhausting_  to be in Nick’s head, constantly monitoring the others for signs of distress. In any case, Kurt would have to meet Hunter and Sebastian at some point. Darren was rather interested in how the changes in circumstances would change the dynamics of those relationships.  
  
Nick headed for the door, the rest of the boys trailing behind him. Darren wondered what the rest of the day would lead to. It was only noon and he was already feeling exhausted.


	31. Chapter 31

Darren sat at the table in the dining hall, observing the other boys interact and waiting for Hunter and Sebastian to show up. Kurt was still very reserved. He sat quietly in his chair and just watched the other three, without adding much to the conversation. Nick had busied himself keeping a running commentary on the school and teachers and what Kurt could expect at Dalton. Jeff was almost vibrating beside him with nervous energy. Whether that was from the sugar rush of the pixie sticks or Jeff phasing into a manic episode, Darren had no idea.   
  
Without breaking his constant stream of conversation, Nick started subtly pulling ice cubes out of his unused water glass and handing them to Jeff. Kurt had a slightly confused look on his face, but said nothing. Jeff simply held them clenched in his fist until they melted, at which point Nick would fish around in his drink and hand another one over. Jeff noticed Darren’s puzzled look and simply shrugged in his direction with a wry smile.   
  
Darren had heard of that as a method of dealing with self harm urges before. He never really understood how it would be that helpful, but he had heard of it. Something about the unpleasant sensation of the cold ice being a way of inflicting pain without inflicting actual harm. So while Nick and Jeff’s actions did appear rather odd, he had a pretty good idea of what they were trying to do. Darren wondered what Kurt was thinking.   
  
Once again Darren was struck by the deep connection Nick and Jeff seemed to have. Nick hadn’t even stopped talking to Kurt, or even turned to look at Jeff. And yet he still seemed hardwired to notice when Jeff was heading for trouble and just automatically intercepted. Kurt and Blaine should have that kind of relationship. And yet Darren found himself at a loss.  _It hurt_.  
  
His silent contemplation was interrupted by the arrival of Hunter and Sebastian, who appeared suddenly at the table and sat down next to each other. Sebastian’s eyes were suspiciously red rimmed, but at least there was actually life in them today. The zombie that had taken Sebastian’s place in Wes’ room for movie night had concerned Darren. He was glad to see wherever Sebastian and Hunter had gone hadn’t made things worse, at least.   
  
Hunter had a very strange expression on his face. He looked almost awed. It was, really odd, actually. Darren snapped his fingers in front of Hunter’s face. “Are you with us?” he inquired. Hunter didn’t need to fixate on his desire for a countertenor. Kurt didn’t need the added stress of Hunter insisting on his joining the Warbler’s immediately upon arrival.   
  
Hunter blinked, and glanced back and forth between Kurt and Darren. He shook his head. “Sorry, my thoughts were elsewhere.” He turned to Kurt. “Nice to see you again, Kurt,” he offered.  
  
Darren was momentarily confused by the familiarity until he remembered it was Hunter that had shown Kurt around on his last trip to Dalton. Kurt smiled nervously. “Hello Hunter.”  
  
Hunter smiled at the other boy. He waved a hand in the direction of Sebastian and stated, “and this is Sebastian. Other than Thad and Trent who aren’t back on campus yet, this pretty much sums up the core group of Warbler’s. Which you will be joining, I’m sure.”  
  
Kurt looked uncomfortable. Darren spoke up for him, since he wasn’t sure if Kurt would speak for himself. “He hasn’t decided if he’s going to join yet, Hunter. Don’t pressure him.”  
  
Hunter just shook his head. “He has to join. We need him. Besides, we’ll be good for him. Better than being at McKinley.”  
  
Kurt winced at the name of his old school. Darren kind of wanted to tell Hunter to just shut up. Kurt didn’t need him bringing bad memories up. Darren still wished he knew what had happened. Hunter looked ready to start up an argument, when Sebastian pulled himself out of his own thoughts long enough to mutter, “I can’t stand the stench of public schools.”  
  
Darren was pretty sure that was a line from Glee. Those little correlations that came out of nowhere still shocked him sometimes. Hunter turned to Sebastian. “Something to add, Smythe?”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “Public schools are for people whose life goal is to perfect the words ‘would you like fries with that’.”   
  
Well, Sebastian’s elitist attitude hadn’t gone anywhere. It was nice to see some things never changed. Darren shrugged. “Why don’t we just have Kurt come to practice tomorrow and observe? He can decide later if he’s willing to make the commitment.”  
  
Nick smiled slightly. “That sounds like a good idea. As long as he isn’t secretly a spy from McKinley looking to steal our secrets and carry them back from Dalton.”  
  
Kurt’s response was tense, unhappy. It made Darren’s heart hurt. “I don’t cheat,” he hissed, “and I wouldn’t spy for them. None of them bothered to…” he cut himself off, looking more and more upset. Nick’s voice was quiet and regretful as he reassured, “I’m sorry, Kurt. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was just a joke. We know you couldn’t stay at McKinley. We don’t know why, specifically, but a lot of us are here because Dalton is better and safer for us.” Jeff reached out and gently took Nick’s hand. Nick continued, “It’s helped us Kurt. It might not seem it right now, but it can help you too.”  
  
Kurt merely shrugged. He wasn’t exactly eager to continue the discussion.   
  
Darren really needed to find an opportunity to get online and look up McKinley. The way Kurt had reacted earlier to his mention of videos on the internet made him wonder if there was something out there that would give in insight. Maybe Jacob Ben Israel still had his blog? Darren would have to check later.  
  
Nick interrupted his introspective. “Blaine,” he eyed Darren’s plate critically, “you haven’t been eating much. Is everything all right?” He glanced uneasily in Kurt’s direction.  
  
 _Darren, you Idiot. Stop forgetting._  Darren kept getting so wrapped up in analyzing the others he forgot the plate in front of him. He kept forgetting Blaine had an eating disorder, and the others would be concerned if he didn’t at least put on a show of attempting to eat. Darren himself didn’t have a problem, so he kept forgetting what it would probably look like from everyone else’s perspective. He needed to pay more attention. Darren appreciated Nick was trying not to make his concern too obvious in front of Kurt, who knew nothing of any of their issues, but he had to figure just the concerned looks the others were now shooting in Darren’s direction would be enough to tip Kurt off.  
  
Darren smiled at Nick. “I’m okay, I just got sidetracked.” He started eating the applesauce in the cup on his plate. He would try some of the chicken after. It looked greasy and unappetizing. And his stomach was kind of in knots. Darren figured it was just stress from meeting Kurt and then having no idea how to go about helping him.   
  
It seemed to be enough to pacify the others. Content now that Blaine was all right for the moment, Nick’s attention strayed back to Jeff.  
  
Hunter’s focus went back to Kurt. “So, will you at least come with us and see what the Warbler’s are all about tomorrow?” he prodded, lifting up a hand and leaning past Darren to place it on Kurt’s shoulder to get his full attention.  
  
Kurt’s response was immediate, and  _worrying_. Darren felt his entire body tense beside him. Within the span of seconds, he had thrown Hunter’s hand off his body, pulled himself out of his chair, and was standing beside it, arms folded protectively in front of him, and was  _glaring_  at the other boy. “Don’t  _touch_  me!”   
  
Hunter backed off, hands up in apology. “I’m sorry, Kurt. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He did look regretful.  
  
Sebastian watched the interaction with vague interest. “Kitty does have claws,” he mused softly.  
  
Hunter shot him a look. Sebastian merely shrugged. “What?” he asked.  
  
Darren looked on with concern.  _What provoked that reaction to a mere touch?_


	32. Chapter 32

“Hunter, are you already scaring off the new talent?”  
  
Darren glanced up at the voice carrying from the entrance to the room. Wes and David were headed towards them.  _Weird. Hunter hadn’t even mentioned them when he was talking to Kurt about the group. He seems…distracted._    
  
Hunter glanced up at the sound. He shook his head slightly, like he was trying to clear his thinking. “It’s fine,” he stated calmly. “I was just apologizing for startling Kurt.” He gestured towards the seat Kurt had vacated. “I promise to keep my hands to myself,” he offered.  
  
Kurt sat down. He looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry too,” he admitted. “I overreacted. I just wasn’t expecting it. I’m…kind of jumpy.”  
  
Hunter nodded. “Noted. I’ll keep it in mind in the future.”  
  
Wes and David sat down on the other side of the table. Wes smiled at Kurt. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said. “We’ve been eagerly anticipating your arrival.”  
  
“Senior Council,” Darren whispered quietly to Kurt. “Wes and David. Along with Thad.”  
  
Kurt gave him a timid smile. “Hi…”  
  
David smiled at him. “We’re happy to have you Kurt. We saw your Single Ladies performance online. You can consider that your audition to the Warblers. If you can pull that off  _and_  kick a field goal, I think you’re pretty much guaranteed a spot with us.”  
  
Kurt was turning a brilliant shade of bright red. It was kind of adorable, actually. “Someone taped that? Oh, that’s kind of horrifying.”  
  
Darren came to his rescue. “He’s going to come watch practice tomorrow,” he told Wes and David. “He isn’t making any commitments yet.”  
  
David looked disappointed, but he simply nodded and said, “I hope we can convince you, Kurt.”  
  
Wes looked ready to launch an argument, but Hunter was glaring daggers at him from across the table, and Wes backed down. Darren found that interesting because three minutes ago it was  _Hunter_  trying to make Kurt agree to join.   
  
Hunter’s attention wandered from Kurt over the rest of the group. Darren noticed him focus for a minute on Darren himself, and stuck a couple pieces of chicken in his mouth, trying to avoid a confrontation. Hunter apparently accepted Darren’s attempts at lunch and moved on to Nick and Jeff. His eyebrows lifted at the sight of another ice cube being passed to Jeff. “Rough day?” he asked. Jeff just shrugged. He had ice in one hand and was nervously drumming on the table with the fingers of the other. “Jittery,” he explained. “A little manic? Until they get the meds adjusted again I kind of fly and fall a lot. It’s just the urges at the moment, not the hopelessness.”  
  
Darren was surprised Jeff just laid it all out like that. Particularly in front of Kurt. Then again, they had apparently been through this once before with Jeff when he and Nick had first started at Dalton. Maybe Jeff was comfortable enough with them all at this point to just talk to them now that everything was out in the open. Darren kind of admired the courage that took. Kurt was still watching with a confused expression. Darren noticed Hunter and Nick exchange some kind of quick glance. Nick nodded ever so slightly and tilted his head in Kurt’s direction. Darren doubted anyone else had caught the exchange.  
  
Hunter told Jeff, “Okay, good. Or at least better than the alternative. You’re going to keep telling us if it gets to be too much, right?”  
  
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Yes, mother.”  
  
Hunter spoke again. “You’re all going to follow that rule, right?”  
  
He got various yes responses, a couple waves of hands, and from Sebastian, a sarcastic “yes mommy.”  
  
Kurt gave up trying to interpret any of that and turned to whisper to Darren, “are you following any of this?”  
  
Darren nodded and smiled slightly at him. “Yeah, I’ll walk you through it later. Hunter kind of thinks he’s the den mother?”  
  
Hunter flipped him off. “Someone needs to watch after you all. I swear, you all have the sense of self preservation of a bunch of lemmings headed for a cliff.” He headed Wes’ retort off with a raised hand and shake of his head. “Don’t bother, Wesley. You cried for 20 minutes the last time you lost your gavel. You’re as much a moron as the rest of them.”  
  
Darren still couldn’t figure out how Hunter managed to say these things without people getting mad at him. Maybe it was because their was genuine affection and concern amidst all the severe lack of tact or social skills.  
  
Wes rolled his eyes at him. “I did not cry, Hunter. Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, I had a right to be upset. I bought that gavel with my own money. It was expensive! I just didn’t want to lose it.”  
  
David eyed him. “And it had nothing to do with the fact that the night before you spent an  _hour and a half_  polishing it when we were supposed to be studying, and I’m pretty sure at one point I heard you _talk_  to it.”  
  
Wes glared at him. “Do you really want to have a conversation about who has the stranger habits, David?”  
  
Kurt was watching in amusement. “Are you all insane?” he inquired pleasantly.  
  
Sebastian looked at him with still reddened but calmer eyes. “Certifiably,” he confirmed. “Every last one of them. With the exception of me. I’m perfect.”  
  
Kurt looked at Sebastian with a slightly considering expression. Sebastian eyed him up and down in return. Darren watched with interest. How would those two react to each other?  
  
“You look like a meerkat,” Kurt finally decided. “A smug one.” His tone was mild.  
  
Sebastian’s grin widened. “Fun…” he purred. “I don’t like you either.”  
  
Well, that answered Darren’s question. Apparently, without Blaine to fight over, Sebastian and Kurt would… _flirt_  with each other? Darren wasn’t sure what they were doing. There wasn’t any animosity there. They almost seemed to be testing each other out. Darren didn’t know what to make of it. And given Kurt’s immediate history, or what little Darren was assuming, he was mildly surprised Kurt was engaging with Sebastian. Who pretty much dripped innuendo all the time without even trying.  
  
By the end of lunch, Kurt had opened up a little bit more. He still was quiet, but he did converse somewhat with the constantly chattering boys around him. Nick and Jeff headed off back to their room, and Wes and David excused themselves to go do some studying in the library. Hunter headed out, Sebastian following after him only after addressing Kurt with complete seriousness to tell him “I’m at the end of the hall with Hunter. Listen…I think there’s some things you and I…could talk about. If you wanted.” He looked uncomfortable. “Just…I’m available, okay?”  
  
Kurt looked confused, but he nodded at him. Sebastian smiled at him and wandered out the door.  
  
Darren’s gaze followed Sebastian until he exited. He really wished he knew what _that_ had been about. He turned back to Kurt. “Do you want me to help you unpack?” he offered.  
  
Kurt considered him for a moment, and then slowly nodded. “I wouldn’t mind the help,” he agreed.  
  
Darren nodded and they both headed back towards Kurt’s room.


	33. Chapter 33

Darren really didn’t accomplish a lot back in Kurt’s room that afternoon assisting him in unpacking. Kurt kept the door propped open, and proceeded to hand Darren several boxes. “Scarves,” he explained. “Carefully organized by brand and season. They need to go on the hangars in the closet. They’re numbered.”  
  
Darren stared at the boxes. He  _numbered_  them? Sure enough, each had a carefully labeled tag with a month and number on them. Kurt’s current wardrobe might be less flamboyant than Darren was used to, but it certainly didn’t lack in  _quantity_  at all. He wasn’t sure how Kurt planned to fit the entire mountain of boxes in the corner of his room into the limited closet and drawer space. He suspected he would run out of space before he got out of  _accessories_  and into actual  _clothes_  at this point. Darren merely nodded and set to work. Kurt glanced sideways at him.  
  
“I appreciate the help,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got here. Dalton is…a lot different from what I’m used to.”  
  
Darren nodded. He hoped Kurt would continue to volunteer information. “You came from public school?”  
  
“Yeah.” Kurt shook his head. “It wasn’t horrible, most of the time. We were bottom of the totem pole, you know, but I did have the glee club. But…there was a lot of bullying. And all of us were just kind of trying to survive. The others…” he sighed. “Something…happened, a couple months ago. It got blown out of proportion, and a bunch of lies were spread. And then…” he broke off, discomfort radiating off of him.  
  
“You don’t have to tell me anything you aren’t comfortable with,” Darren stated softly.  
  
“I…feel like I should probably tell you at least a little. So you understand, if I’m a little…shaky” Kurt responded.  
  
“Fair enough.” Darren busied himself with the scarves, letting Kurt continue his story without feeling like Darren’s eyes were watching, or judging. He was glad Kurt felt at least that comfortable with him. Darren kept trying to separate this Kurt from his own in his own head.  
  
“There was this…Neanderthal who made it his mission to make my life a living hell. He…couldn’t face the truth, and he…decided to take it out on me.” Kurt’s voice had dropped to a whisper by the end of the statement. He stood staring into the mirror over his chest of drawers, arms wrapped protectively around himself. The sight made Darren’s chest constrict.  _Karofsky…what did he do?_  
  
“I’m sorry you were hurt by other people’s ignorance,” Darren said softly. “I’m sorry you had to leave your school to be safe. But I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you’re in a position where you can be safe.” He smiled. “And I know the Warbler’s can seem kind of…overwhelming, but they’re all really close and supportive of each other. You might find some common ground there. They’ll probably understand more than you might think.”  
  
Kurt smiled slightly back at him. “You’re a good guy, Blaine Warbler. Thank you.”  
  
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, Darren did his best to slowly draw Kurt out with small talk, taking mental note of the similarities and differences from Glee. This Kurt was fundamentally the same in so many ways, but seemed…sadder. More vulnerable.  
  
Eventually, Darren gestured around the room. “It’s getting late. Do you want any more help before I head back to my room?”  
  
Kurt shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll deal with the rest of it later. I’ve got time. I should call my dad before bed and let him know I’m all settled, anyway. He wasn’t all that fond of the idea of me boarding.” Kurt rolled his eyes. “He worries.”  
  
“I’m sure he just cares about you,” Darren said. “I’ll let myself out then. Do you want me to get you in the morning and we can grab breakfast together? The Warbler’s will probably be expecting you there too.”   
  
“Sure. 6:30?”  
  
Darren nodded. “Perfect. I’ll come knock. Good night, Kurt.”  
  
Kurt waved at him, already pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Good night, Blaine.”  
  
Darren exited Kurt’s room and entered his own, only to jump about a mile when a voice from the shadows near his desk asked, “How did it go?”  
  
Darren peered into the corner. Hunter was sitting in the chair in the mostly darkened room, the only light coming from the desk lamp that illuminated Hunter’s face. Darren stared. “Is that…a cat?”  
  
Hunter glanced into his lap and shrugged. “It wanders around the building. It adopted me a while ago.”  
  
Every time Darren thought he could almost accept this crazy reality the universe shifted sideways again. Hunter was sitting in his chair with  _Mr. Puss._  In the  _dark_. Looking for all the world like the villain on Glee. Maybe the universe  _was_  trying to tell him something. He eyed the cat. “A cat. A  _cat_ , Hunter?”  
  
Hunter eyed him back. “What is your problem? It’s been wandering around outside for months while everyone fed it. Jeff finally couldn’t take it anymore and let it in the building. And of course no one’s going to tell Jeffrey  _Sterling_  he can’t have a cat. Not when his mother’s family funded the residence building we’re standing in. Especially now. Jeff wants a house cat, we get a house cat.”  
  
Well, there was one more fact he hadn’t known. Apparently Jeff was much better off financially than he had realized. But still, that cat.  
  
Mr. Puss apparently decided he had had enough of Darren’s incredulous expression and hopped off Hunter’s lap to wind his way around Darren’s feet. The evil cat was surprisingly…affectionate, actually. Darren reached down to pet it. It purred and rubbed against Darren’s hand.   
  
Darren turned back to Hunter. “Why are you sitting in the dark in my room, anyway?”  
  
Hunter watched the cat wander away from Darren and called softly. It turned and jumped right back in his lap. Hunter petted it, explaining, “I wanted to make sure Kurt was all set. Since technically, he is my responsibility to look after, since he’s on my floor.”  
  
“And you needed it skulk in the dark to do that?”  
  
Hunter stared at him, face impassive. “The table lamp is on, Anderson. And your door was open.”  
  
Darren still found it strange. Actually, he found pretty much  _everything_  about Hunter strange.   
  
“Did you eat dinner?” Hunter was watching him with suspicion.  
  
 _Crap._  He hadn’t. He had gotten wrapped up in helping Kurt unpack and hadn’t given it a thought. “I…was just going to. I got sidetracked with Kurt.”  
  
Hunter didn’t look pleased. “Kitchen is closed, Blaine. You want to try again?”  
  
Darren was getting defensive. He didn’t like the feeling. “It wasn’t intentional, Hunter. Besides,  _you_  asked me to help him.”  
  
“Not at your own expense.” Hunter glared at him. “I figured as much. You’re coming back to my room. I’ve got a supply of snack bars and things at the very least. And you’re going to eat them.”  
  
There probably wasn’t any point in arguing with him. Darren admitted defeat. “Fine.”  
  
Hunter placed the cat carefully on the ground and stood. “Come,” he ordered, marching towards the door. “Oh, and don’t antagonize Sebastian.”  
  
He exited, the cat trailing after him, meowing softly. Darren trailed after both of them.  
  
 _Seriously, what is up with him?_


	34. Chapter 34

Sebastian glanced up from his laptop when Hunter reentered the dorm room, trailing an entourage behind him. Sebastian didn’t look all that surprised by the unexpected guests.  
  
“Hobbit, Mother Hen, Demon Spawn,” he greeted, nodding in turn at Darren, Hunter, and the cat. Darren blinked at him. “Hi….?”  
  
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Play nice, Meerkat,” he ordered.  
  
Sebastian glared at him, face glowing in the light of the laptop screen he had open next to him on his bed. “We are not adopting Meerkat as my nickname because you like the countertenor that came up with it, Hunter.”  
  
“Straight, remember Sebastian?” Hunter corrected mildly. “But I can see a resemblance.”  
  
“Ugly Duckling,” Sebastian muttered.  
  
Darren thought they were taking these bird metaphors too far. Warblers, Pavarotti, apparently another bird before him, Ducklings, and Mother Hens. It was getting ridiculous.   
  
Hunter just shook his head and headed for a drawer in a nightstand, already focused on his next mission. He pulled out a carton of cereal bars and hauled an apple out of a bowl on top. Sebastian watched bemusedly from his position on the bed. “Why do you have a bowl of fruit, Hunter?” he asked. “Was that even _there_  earlier?”  
  
Hunter waved a dismissive hand his way. “I like to be prepared. The basket has been here for weeks Sebastian. Did you never notice?” He handed the bar and apple to Darren, ordering, “Eat. Now.”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “You’re so possessive of your stuff, I try not to look over there. You hide everything away. I half expect if I so much as look over there my eyes will burn out.”  
  
“You’re exaggerating,” Hunter stated flatly.  
  
“You have your desk drawer locked,” Sebastian countered mildly.   
  
Hunter aimed a nervous glance in Darren’s direction. It was so quick, Darren almost thought he might have been imagining it. But when Hunter spoke, it was with less than his usual confidence. It really made Darren want to look in that drawer.  
  
“I…Everyone deserves a little privacy, Sebastian. I don’t need to justify myself to you.”  
  
“Nope, you don’t” Sebastian agreed easily. “But it does make me wonder what you’re hiding.”  
  
Hunter snapped at him. Darren was surprised. He didn’t think he had heard Hunter actually lose control before that moment. “It isn’t like all of you aren’t hiding things, Sebastian!”  
  
Sebastian’s response was soothing, like he was trying to calm an angry animal. Or petulant two year old. “It’s fine, Hunter, you’re allowed to have secrets. Relax.”  
  
Hunter sighed, deflating. “I’m sorry too,” he stated, tightly.  
  
Sebastian just shrugged.  
  
Darren stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, chewing slowly on the cereal bar and wondering what was going on. He was pretty curious now about that locked drawer. It probably was nothing, and none of his business, but he really wanted to look inside it. He was desperate for answers at this point. He wondered if there was a way to get at the drawer when the two of them weren’t in the room. He would have to think about it. Maybe it was nothing, but maybe there were answers. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of breaking confidences like that, but he needed to know what was going on here. If this could tell him, he would go through Hunter’s personal belongings. If he was wrong, he could feel bad about it later.  
  
It was immaterial tonight, anyway. He couldn’t break into the drawer with the two of them and that cat underfoot. Mr. Puss had prowled around the room, finally deciding the best place to settle was on Sebastian’s bed. Sitting directly on top of his laptop keyboard. Sebastian glared at the cat. “You have to sit there  _now_?” he asked it, crossing his arms in front of his chest and frowning. Hunter glanced towards him. “Did you email him?” he asked.  
  
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah, I told him to email or text me back. Or call if he wanted. He won’t get out for a couple days, but they did let him have his phone back.”  
  
Well that wasn’t a particularly clear conversation. Darren tilted his head to the side. “Someone I know?”  
  
Hunter glanced in his direction. He looked vaguely uncomfortable. “No, just someone Sebastian knows. He’s…had a rough time of it lately.”  
  
Sometimes getting information from this place was like pulling teeth. Darren stifled the desire to sigh. “Is he…okay?”  
  
Hunter glanced at Sebastian again, looking unsure. Sebastian glanced at him and shrugged. “He doesn’t know him. What can it hurt?” He addressed Darren. “It’s someone I know from…outside of Dalton. He kind of had a bit of a…crisis, I guess, a couple months ago? He did something he shouldn’t have and it didn’t go well. It got blown out of proportion and…someone else ended up getting…hurt-”  
  
“-Sebastian!” Hunter growled, warningly. Sebastian paused. “I  _know_!” he exclaimed. “I’m not an idiot. Relax. You’re just confusing him more.”  
  
Well, Sebastian was right there. Darren was very confused. “Am I missing something here?”  
  
Sebastian shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Anyway, someone ended up getting hurt, and he felt really horrible about it. He blamed himself. And…” Sebastian trailed off, looking to Hunter.  
  
“He tried to…hurt himself,” Hunter said softly, looking carefully at Darren. Darren had the uneasy idea Hunter was trying to gauge something from Darren’s own reaction. Darren didn’t know what his reaction was  _supposed_  to be. Were they talking about Karofsky? They had to be. But…the story just sounded…wrong. Different. Darren studied Sebastian. He looked…regretful?   
  
“Is that where you and Hunter went today?” Darren guessed. “And why you were acting so weird at Movie Night?”  
  
“Insensitive,” Hunter growled, shaking his head at Darren.  
  
Sebastian cut him off. “Hunter, it’s fine.  _I’m_  fine.” He turned back to Darren. “Yeah, it was. I didn’t know the whole story before I went to visit him earlier today. I just knew he was in the hospital because he tried to…well, you know. I…The last time I saw him, I said something really insensitive and mean and petty. I didn’t mean a word of it, I just…it’s a defense mechanism, and he…didn’t deserve that. But then I heard what he had done, and I was afraid part of it could be my fault. I…don’t want to be the kind of person who can hurt people like that. So I panicked a little until Hunter forced me to go with him to see ka-” Sebastian cut himself off, then finished, ‘the guy.“  
  
Well, that pretty much verified Karofsky  was involved somehow. But if he was the one who hurt Kurt, why was Sebastian so concerned about his well being? Unless he didn’t know what Karofsky did to Kurt? But he seemed to know a lot more than Darren. And the way he had cut the name off, Darren suspected he even knew Kurt was involved somehow. And didn’t want the name getting out. That would also explain his offer to talk to Kurt. Darren wished he knew the whole story.  
  
Hunter had that gentle tone Darren had heard used a couple times before with Sebastian. "And  _none_  of it was because of you. What you said was totally unrelated. You need to stop beating yourself up over it.”  
  
Sebastian didn’t look convinced. “Still…I didn’t need to say that to him. Why would I say that?”  
  
Hunter cast a cautious look at Darren and said, voice level, “you know why.”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “I should be over that.”  
  
Hunter rolled his eyes. “It’s not something you can just bury and forget Seb. You can work on it, but it’s understandable if you feel…threatened, and react to the trigger.”  
  
Darren wanted a Glee writer. Or Cliff Notes. Or a transcript.  _Something_. The more that came out, the more he realized he knew  _nothing_. Hoping they wouldn’t shut down as soon as he really made his presence known with a comment and they realized they still weren’t alone, Darren said, mildly, “I’m…kind of lost right now.”  
  
Hunter’s head swiveled in his direction. “Not my story,” he stated. He turned to Sebastian. “Seb?”  
  
Sebastian shrugged. “It’s…been over with for a long time. I’m tired of hiding it. It’s not doing anyone any favors. And I’m fine now, most of the time. I don’t mind if you want to know, Blaine. At least my end of it. Since we all seem to be spilling secret’s lately…”  
  
 _Yes, Please. Give me some insight._  But he wasn’t going to pressure Sebastian. It had to be on his terms. “Only if you’re willing, Sebastian.”  
  
Sebastian winced slightly “Yeah, well….to do this, yes. It’s okay.”  
  
And Darren settled down in a chair to listen..


	35. Chapter 35

Sebastian picked Mr. Puss up off his laptop and deposited the cat gently on the bed next to him. He stared at the laptop screen for a few moments before sighing and closing the lid. He glanced at Hunter and Darren, running a hand nervously through his hair. The cat meandered it’s way over to him and settled itself against his side, purring contentedly. Darren watched in bemusement. Sebastian shrugged and rubbed the cat’s ears, before turning his attention to the two boys in the room.  
  
“There are ground rules to this,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Hunter already dragged the story out of me once, but he’s the only person I’ve told. If I choose to tell anyone else, it’s on  _my_  terms. If I want to talk about it again, I’ll bring it up. It happened a long time ago, it’s over, I’m over it, and we aren’t going to cry and cuddle over it. Comprenez-vous?”  
  
Darren raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure if he was thrilled with being forced to swear secrecy without knowing what the story was, but it didn’t look like Sebastian would be sharing otherwise. Sebastian still maintained that cocky confidence, even here. Darren couldn’t really see him opening up with in the same manner as the others. So despite his misgivings, Darren nodded his agreement. “On your terms, Sebastian.”  
  
Hunter glared at him. “You know what I think about it.”   
  
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mother Hen. We’ve been through this. Stop pecking me to death.”  
  
Hunter just stared at him, arms folded.  
  
Sebastian chose to ignore Hunter’s displeasure and focused on Darren. “So…it’s…not that interesting a story.” He looked away, his focus on the cat though his words were directed at Darren. Darren supposed it was easier for him to pretend there wasn’t anyone listening. He had an uneasy feeling.  
  
“My mom and dad split when I was ten,” Sebastian explained. “Dad stayed in the states and mom moved back to France with me. She was born there. Mom…had her issues. I don’t think my dad was wild about me going with her, but he figured he was at work so much it would be better for me to be with the parent who had more…time for me.” He shook his head. “It might have worked out better if she spent more time with me and less in the local bars searching for someone to go home with for the night.”  
  
Darren winced. It didn’t sound like Sebastian had a very responsible role model. He had a bad feeling things were going to get worse though.  
  
Sebastian continued to pet the cat, his whole attention carefully focused on the bundle of fur purring against him. “She…she was like a different person from day to night. During the day, she was my mom. At night, she was this lonely, drunk, pathetic human being. There were more men coming in and out of our apartment at night than I could count.”  
  
Darren was starting to actually feel fear for ten year old Sebastian. He couldn’t imagine that the people his inebriated mother was dragging home were particularly upstanding citizens. And a ten year old would have been virtually defenseless against them. “Sebastian,” he said, cautiously, searching for a tactful way to ask what he really wasn’t sure he wanted to know, “were..did they…”  
  
Sebastian glanced at Darren and rolled his eyes at his clumsily faltering question. “Relax, killer. What you’re probably thinking didn’t happen. They were usually too drunk to do anything more than pass out if they even got that far with my mother. There were maybe a couple who looked at me funny and four or five who didn’t like a kid in their way and smacked me around, but they were usually so drunk they couldn’t even hit very well.”  
  
No…that didn’t make Darren feel any better, actually. Not _at all_. Was Sebastian seriously trying to explain that getting physically abused by his drunken mother’s one night stands wasn’t a big deal?  
  
Hunter, having heard the story before, however, wasn’t having any of Sebastian’s condensed and sanitized version. “You’re leaving a fair amount out, aren’t you?” he inquired mildly.  
  
Sebastian glared at him. “I’m getting there.” He glanced back at Darren,  _checking his response, maybe?_  and then went back to addressing the room, avoiding eye contact with the people in it.  
  
“Things actually got better for a while. She met up with a guy who didn’t like her drinking so much. She got serious with him and he started taking her out places other than the bar. She would still come home and drink, but at least I didn’t have to lock my door every night just in case.” Sebastian’s voice sounded tired. He looked like the direction the story was going pained him. Nervously, he started picking at the frayed edges of the bedspread, eyes vacant, mind somewhere else entirely.  
  
“They got so serious, he moved in. I was fourteen. He…kept her from drinking as much. Kept her from  _wanting to_ , sometimes even. I  _wanted_  to like him. I wanted to believe that things could get better. So when he started acting…weird, I ignored the signs. Told myself that I was wrong and it didn’t matter as long as she was sober…” his voice trailed off.  
  
“None of this was your fault,” Hunter stated firmly. He sat down on the bed on the other side of the cat and laid a hand on the bedspread, almost but not quite touching Sebastian’s own hand.  
  
Sebastian glanced towards him and silently moved his hand so it was covering Hunter’s. Neither reacted in any other way. Darren watched the interaction with interest. Hunter seemed to be able to break through Sebastian’s walls better than most. Probably because he seemed content to let Sebastian cautiously open windows for him, instead of attempting to break down the whole protective barricade at once. Darren was frankly afraid of where this was going. He could hazard a guess, but he really hoped it would be wrong. Particularly if what Sebastian had said about never telling anyone before was true. Because it was beginning to look like Sebastian had been…assaulted, and kept that fact bottled up since he was  _fourteen_. It made Darren’s heart hurt. It was times like this when he was suddenly stuck by the realization that this wasn’t a TV show. This wasn’t a storyline that Glee writers had thought up that a 23 year old Grant Gustin would act out, but never have to actually face. This was a reality that a seventeen year old Sebastian had been dealing with, on his own,  _every day, for three years_. It made him feel decidedly ill.   
  
Sebastian smiled wryly at Hunter. “I know it isn’t,” he murmured. He tilted his head towards Darren. “And you’re making him nervous.”  
  
Darren laughed uncomfortably. “I think the situation you were in is making me nervous, Sebastian!”  
  
Sebastian merely shrugged. “You’re making assumptions again that probably aren’t true. Yeah, he did turn out to be a problem. Yes, I was right to be concerned. No, it didn’t go as far as you’re probably imagining again. But it went far enough.” His voice had gotten strained, brittle. “It only happened once. I neglected to lock my door, my mom was out of it, he wasn’t happy, he came into my room, I ended up on my knees for him, and…after…he left the room, went back to her, and I locked my door and left through my window. Every night after that when my mom would be drunk and he would be there, I would lock my door and leave through my window.” Sebastian hastily wiped at his eyes, brushing away any hint of the emotions he was feeling, and just sat rigidly, fingers digging into the covers of the bed as he fought for control.  
  
Darren had never wanted to hurt someone as much as he wanted to hurt the man who had abused Sebastian. To come into his  _own home_ , start a relationship with his mother, and then…he couldn’t even comprehend the level of malicious depravity that would take.  
  
“Sebastian…” Darren didn’t even know what to say. What do you say when someone tells you something like that? He cleared his throat and tried again. “Sebastian…I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t even imagine…” Darren shook his head. “You’re just so…strong. I’m amazed that you’ve dealt with this on your own all this time. I don’t think I could have…”  
  
Sebastian laughed slightly. It was a slightly desperate sound. “I’m not that strong, Blaine. I was pretty messed up for a while. Like,  _really_  messed up. But that’s in the past. I don’t like to dwell on it. But…it’s kind of why I said what I did to Karofsky and I still feel bad, because it wasn’t him I was reacting to, it was my own memories.”  
  
Karofsky…Sebastian probably didn’t even realize he had let the name slip out. Then again, he also probably figured Blaine didn’t have an reason to be familiar with it. Darren on the other hand, did. There was more to that story. And what it had to do with Kurt. But Kurt wasn’t what was really important right now. The boy in front of him was. Darren was impressed with his honesty. He knew it had to be extremely hard for him to admit that. Darren couldn’t imagine keeping something like that bottled up for years. He kept his voice soft, nonjudgmental. “What did you say?”  
  
Sebastian winced. “I saw him at a bar. He had been in there before a few times. He…asked me how he could get a guy. And I basically told him he was overweight and had eyebrows like Liberace and he couldn’t get a guy and should just stay in the closet.” He studied his hands, sighing. “I just…I was afraid maybe he was interested in me. I…don’t do guys that are…bigger, or stronger than me. I  _can’t_. I just…panic. I wanted him to go away, couldn’t explain why, and just…said the first mean thing I could think of to make him not like me. And it worked, and I felt better, and then I found out from someone at the bar later that he had tried to…”  
  
“Kill himself.” Hunter concluded, quietly.  
  
Sebastian nodded. “I was afraid I could have contributed to that decision. I didn’t want to upset him, just…make him stay away. But I didn’t dislike him. He seemed like a decent enough guy. The guys at the bar all liked him. So I kind of, freaked out a little?  
  
"Turned into a zombie and scared me half to death when you wouldn’t tell me why, you mean?” Hunter countered, but his voice was affectionate.  
  
Sebastian smiled slightly. “See, you do love me. I knew it.” He nodded to himself.   
  
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Straight, Sebastian,” he murmured, leaning into him. Sebastian leaned back against him, closing his eyes. He looked exhausted. Darren figured maybe he should take that opportunity to exit. He figured Sebastian would get more from Hunter than him right now. He would give them the privacy that Sebastian would probably want after admitting his past like that.  
  
“Hey,” he said, softly. They both opened their eyes and watched him, tiredly. “I’m…going to let you two regroup.” He leveled his gaze at Sebastian, hoping his sincerity would come through. “I’m really glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me what happened, Sebastian. I know it was hard for you. And I’m sorry you had to go through it. I’m glad you’re not in that situation anymore. If you ever want to talk, or I don’t know, not talk, but not be alone, I’m here, okay?”  
  
Sebastian nodded at Darren. “I appreciate it. I’m okay, but I appreciate the offer.”  
  
Darren doubted Sebastian was really okay, but there wasn’t anything more he could do for them tonight other than leave them alone and let Hunter handle it. Hunter had a protective streak running through him that seemed to come out even more when it came to Sebastian. And for some reason Sebastian seemed to trust Hunter. Darren nodded to them both and left, feeling confident that Hunter would look after Sebastian. He suspected there was more to Sebastian’s story, like how he ended up back in the States and at Dalton, and just what ’ _pretty messed up for a while_ ’ constituted, but those were facts that could wait for another day.


	36. Chapter 36

Monday morning Darren woke up way ahead of his alarm clock and lay staring at the ceiling. There was just so much overwhelming him, and each day seemed to bring bigger challenges. Sebastian’s admission last night of what had happened to him had shaken Darren, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. It had been simpler with the others. Jeff had obviously needed help. He had gone back to actively hurting himself, and it was obvious intervention had been necessary. Kurt was definitely struggling, but Darren felt more comfortable dealing with him. He had hope he could help Kurt. Sebastian…Darren didn’t know what he  _needed_. Or if he even needed anything from him.  
  
What had happened to Sebastian made Darren’s skin crawl. That his mother’s boyfriend could do that to him,  _and at fourteen_ , was beyond sick. Darren wanted to help Sebastian, but he didn’t know what Sebastian needed. He had kept the abuse a carefully guarded secret for years. Darren found it interesting that he had elected to open up to Hunter about it. He wondered what had transpired between the two of them that had led to that revelation.  
  
Every responsible adult instinct in him was urging him to go tell one of the counselors in the guidance office. That repressing and refusing to deal with the sexual abuse would only hurt Sebastian in the long run. But…Sebastian had finally opened up to him. And to Hunter. After _years_. Darren didn’t want to chance that telling someone and having them confront Sebastian about it would lead to his completely shutting down and refusing to discuss it  _ever,_  with  _anyone_. He had taken the first steps towards dealing with it. He had opened up to them about it. So while Darren had plenty of misgivings, he would keep Sebastian’s secret for him for the moment. It didn’t mean he couldn’t try to gently motivate him in the direction of telling an adult who could actually help him heal. He was still worried about the other parts of Sebastian’s story that he hadn’t discussed. If the boyfriend had moved in, and Sebastian had said he had fled the house through the window every night his mother ended up drunk, just how often had Sebastian been out all night? And where had he gone?  
  
Darren turned over in the bed, sighing. He pulled the covers up around his chin and blinked into the dark room. Trent’s form was barely visible in the other bed. He had been back in the room by the time Darren had exited Hunter and Sebastian’s dorm and made his way back to his own last night. Darren had given him a rundown of his day, answering his questions about the mysterious new countertenor Warbler they kept talking about. When Darren finally fell into his own bed, it had only taken him a few moments to fall asleep.  
  
He was wide awake now though. And couldn’t shut his brain off. He had classes that morning. Which he wasn’t remotely looking forward to. Followed by another visit to the psychiatrist at 1:00. Where he would have to pretend to understand Blaine and his eating disorder and not make them suspicious or worried enough to place more restrictions on him.  _Great_.   
  
He kept thinking back to last night. And that nervous look that had come across Hunter’s face for that split second when Sebastian had mentioned the locked desk drawer. It probably didn’t mean anything. For all he knew it was where Hunter was keeping the steroids that Glee’s Hunter had forced on the team. Darren didn’t really get that vibe from him though. It did, however, make him curious. There had to be some reason he fell into this crazy universe. There could be something in that drawer that would actually tell him something. Or he could be totally reading something into nothing in a desperate attempt to understand why he was here.   
  
There was really only one way to find out. Darren felt slightly guilty over the thought of sneaking into Hunter’s room and rifling though his things, but if it gave him any answers, it would absolutely be worth it. If it didn’t…well, he could feel bad about it later. Hunter was  _strange_. There was no doubt about that. Maybe Darren could get some insight into  _why_.  
  
First, however, he had to get through the morning and figure out just how and when to sneak into the room. He glanced at the alarm clock, which was steadily edging it’s way towards the time he would have to get up anyway. Pulling himself up and out of bed, he set about quickly getting ready for the day. Trent went about his own routine quietly, following Darren down to the dining hall when they were both showered and dressed and keeping watch while he ate. Nick and Jeff were already seated at the Warbler’s table. None of the other boys were around. Darren figured they had either already eaten breakfast or were skipping it. He was the only one they would require to eat before classes.  
  
Breakfast passed uneventfully, Nick and Jeff making small talk with Trent and Darren as they ate. Jeff looked relatively calm that morning. They parted ways shortly before classes started. Darren headed for World History while Trent and Nick headed to their classes and Jeff headed out the door, murmuring, “therapy session,” at Darren on the way out. Darren hoped it helped him.  
  
Darren struggled his way through the morning classes, trying to remember facts and dates long forgotten from his own school years. Lunch time found him seated back at the table surrounded by all the Warbler’s, and Kurt, who took the seat next to him. Darren smiled at him and Kurt smiled tentatively back. It still hurt how awkward it felt between Kurt and himself. There was so much history there that simply had not happened here. At least not yet. Wes reminded everyone of practice after school, practically forcing Kurt to make a blood oath that he would actually show up. Kurt seemed slightly amused by Wes’ intensity. Nick and Jeff were huddled close together, Jeff subdued but still apparently all right. There weren’t any ice cubes being passed anyway, which Darren supposed was progress. Sebastian was sitting in the seat across from Kurt, flirting unabashedly. Darren raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t even begin to guess the thought processes in Sebastian’s head. He supposed it probably had something to do with Sebastian’s need to maintain control of his own environment. Kurt seemed mostly confused, but not particularly uncomfortable, so Darren just let them be. Hunter just sat quietly, keeping watch on all of them.  
  
When the Warbler’s finally dispersed, headed for their next classes, Darren headed for the counselor’s office. His next official class would have been physical education, but Darren assumed they probably figured that was a good time to send him to the counselor, since Blaine wouldn’t have been permitted to engage in strenuous physical activity until they were sure his body could handle it.   
  
Those forty minutes were…awkward. He had seen Ms. Hirsch, the psychiatrist again. She had gone over the rules that he would be expected to follow now that he was back and school was in session. He would have to stop in to be weighed several times a week. He would have to eat lunch and dinner in the dining hall or with either Wes or Hunter present. They had placed his therapy sessions directly after lunch every other day as a preventative measure to make sure that he didn’t try to dispose of the food that he did eat shortly after eating it. If they found that he had purged, or if his body weight went below a certain level, he would have to be monitored during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and an hour afterwards. Darren didn’t like the sound of that at all. Ms. Hirsch explained to him that starting Wednesday, he would begin seeing Mr. Marvin, the therapist. He would only see her if they believed he need medication or there was another need that came up specific to her field of expertise.   
  
By the time Darren left the office, he was feeling overwhelmed. It made him sad that they had to put all those precautions in place to keep Blaine safe from himself. He glanced at his watch. His next class didn’t actually start for a half hour. Ms. Hirsch had recommended he go back to his room to rest before his next class. Darren had other plans.  
  
Hunter and Sebastian would still be in class. It might be the only opportunity he got today to see if he could get some answers. He still felt slightly guilty about it, but Darren headed back for their dorm, walking quickly and purposefully, hoping no one would notice and wonder why he wasn’t in class and where he was headed. He made his way to their door, cautiously turning the handle.   
  
It opened. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid they would have locked their door, but apparently not. He entered the room and closed the door behind him. Turning, he headed for the desk and tried both drawers. The top one with the pens and pencils and erasers opened smoothly. The larger bottom drawer was indeed locked.  _Interesting._ The locked drawer turned out to be the larger one. It was about the size of a filing cabinet drawer. Darren was really curious what Hunter had in there that he was so afraid of anyone else seeing. He glanced around the room, stymied. Where would Hunter have put a key?  
  
He checked a few places, but without luck. It was actually more likely Hunter had the key with him, if he was concerned enough that he wanted Sebastian to stay out as well. Darren knelt down and eyed the desk. It was sturdy and expensive looking. He pulled the top drawer out as far as he could extend it, and ran his fingers along the sliding mechanism. It wasn’t that unusual for them to make drawers where the drawer itself would just pull right out, if he could get it unlatched from the track. He tried pulling up on the drawer, to get it to disconnect. Nothing. He pressed in on the metal connectors on the track and they shifted. They drawer lifted up, and Darren breathed a sigh of relief, pulling it completely out of the drawer and peering inside the hole it left. He was hoping there was an open space and not a full sheet of wood in between the two drawers.  
  
He was correct. He could feel his heart start to beat faster as he looked in the empty space at the stack of folders sitting invitingly in the bottom drawer. He was so close. He might actually get some answers…  
  
He carefully reached a hand in though the space and pulled the stack out. He could only maneuver a few folders at a time through the small opening. Setting the stack on the floor, he picked the first folder up and opened it.   
  
It was a student record. For Jeff. And a very detailed one at that. Darren flipped through the pages. Grade Point Averages, notes, absentee lists, class schedules,  _medical records_. Darren stared in disbelief. Why the hell did Hunter have this? He had Jeff’s entire life at Dalton sitting in that little pile. He pulled out a page. It was a carefully maintained list of Jeff’s medical history related to his self harming. Darren had an extremely uneasy feeling. Another list gave him a full workup on Jeff’s family history.  
  
Darren put down Jeff’s file, feeling like he had just betrayed a confidence simply by glancing through it. He picked up the next few files. Sebastian. Wes. David. Trent. Thad. Nick. Blaine.  _Every_   Warbler had their own file. He didn’t know  _what_  he had just found, but clearly it was something that was utterly, unquestionably,  _wrong_.  
  
He pulled out Blaine’s file. And leafed through the pages, skimming, until he came to one particular paper that immediately sent him into a near panic attack.   
  
It was in the same handwriting the journal he had found back in Blaine’s room had been in. Fairly similar to his own. And reading down through it, Darren felt himself getting more and more panicked. His heart was beating so fast in his chest he thought he might collapse. He sat on the floor, clutching at the paper, staring blankly at it.  
  
It was a  _suicide note_. Written by  _Blaine_. Why did Hunter have a suicide note written by Blaine?  
  
“Blaine?”  
  
Darren head jerked up in shock at the surprised and nervous sounding voice from the doorway. Hunter was staring at him with a look or horror that very nearly matched his own.  
  
Darren promptly forgot where he was, who he was, who he was supposed to be, and who Hunter was or could be. All he could feel was the overwhelming sense of panic driving through him.  
  
“Is this why I’m here?” he choked out. “Hunter, is this why I’m stuck in this absolutely psychotic reality? Is Blaine  _dead_?”


	37. Chapter 37

_He should have known._  Of  _course_  Hunter would end up being the one behind this. Darren should have trusted his instincts. Hunter was the bully on Glee who had been one of the few characters who had  _stayed_  as a villain. Sebastian had found a sort of redemption. Even Karofsky had turned out okay. But Hunter had remained the cause of the Warbler’s downfall. And now Darren was sitting in the middle of his dorm room with confidential files for all the Warbler’s strewn around him and Hunter standing shocked in the doorway. Through his panic over finding a suicide note of Blaine’s, Darren had a vague sense of concern as to whether Hunter was a threat to him right now. 

Although…one look at Hunter pretty much eradicated that fear. Hunter looked as shell shocked as Darren felt. Hunter had reached out blindly, closing the door behind him and leaning heavily against it, but Darren had the feeling the door was keeping  _Hunter_ upright as opposed to keeping  _Darren_  trapped, if the fear currently radiating off Hunter was any indication.

Darren felt a vague sense of indignation. Hunter was responsible for Darren’s current circumstances. Hunter was doing God only knew what with information he had no right to. Hunter probably knew what had happened to Blaine. Hunter didn’t get to look at  _Darren_  like he was the threat. What did Hunter have to be scared over?

Darren glared at Hunter, fear and anger both fighting for supremacy in his hyper aware mind. Anger was currently winning, and he calmed enough to demand, “What is going on, Hunter? You know what caused this, don’t you!”

Hunter stammered out, “Blaine, I…I don’t know what you’re talking about. What are you doing in here?”

Darren practically growled at him, he was so aggravated. “I’m trying to find out what the hell is going on! And I know you know! You’ve got files on all the Warblers. And this!” He held up the note in Blaine’s handwriting, detailing Blaine’s utter hopelessness and desire to die. “Is he  _dead_?” Darren demanded.

Hunter winced as if he were in pain. He shook his head desperately. “Blaine…” he began cautiously, talking as if he were speaking to a child.

“No!” Darren cut him off. “I’m not Blaine. Blaine does not exist. Blaine is a television show character! Stop calling me  _Blaine_!”

Hunter just stared at him, mouth agape. Darren was about to start another tirade when Hunter suddenly whispered, “Oh, shit,” placed his hands over his head like he was trying to stop a tension headache, and slid along the door until he was curled up on the floor, back against the wood. “This is all wrong,” he whispered, eyes closed. He opened them and peered at Darren, and looked completely disappointed to find that Darren hadn’t suddenly melted into the floor and the whole thing was just a figment of his imagination. He stared blankly at Darren. “This is all  _wrong_!” he insisted again, looking at Darren like he was the one at fault.

Darren wasn’t putting up with that. “No kidding Hunter! Why am I here? How did I get here? What did you  _do_?”

Hunter was still staring at him with that blank disbelieving stare on his face. He was making Darren angry. Hunter closed his eyes again and dropped his head down onto his knees, arms curled protectively around himself. “Can you not think so loudly?” he pleaded. “You’re emotions are making me dizzy.”

Darren’s emotions were making  _Hunter_  dizzy? Darren’s emotions were making Darren _crazy_. This whole world was crazy. He shook his head, anger making him lash out. “I don’t care if you aren’t happy, Hunter! What did you do to me? Tell me what’s going on!”

Hunter pulled himself to his knees, swaying with the effort. He braced a hand on the door and pulled himself to his feet, turning to Darren and saying desperately, “Blaine is not dead. You’re right. You don’t belong here. I’m sorry! But it will be okay, I swear! Can you please just…stop feeling so much?” He turned towards the door and leaned against it, resting his forehead on the wood, arms around his head, blocking out the rest of the room.

Darren stared at him in confusion. What was happening? Hunter was supposed to be the bad guy here. He admitted he was the reason Darren was there. Darren would have expected maniacal gloating and an explanation of a madman’s master plan. Not an apparent nervous breakdown. But then, Darren had assumed things would play out the way they would have on Glee. This world had already proved itself to be massively different. And Hunter didn’t seem…evil. Hunter seemed  _hurt_. Darren felt his anger receding, panic slowly seeping away as well as he watched the boy in front of him in confusion. 

About the time Darren thought he might actually be able to have a rational discussion without completely freaking out, Hunter breathed a sigh of relief and turned back around, moving to his bed and sitting shakily down on it. He eyed Darren cautiously. 

“Thank you,” he murmured. Darren wondered what he was being thanked for. “I’m sorry I caused you that much…fear. And anger. This…” Hunter shook his head. “This never was supposed to happen.” He glanced bewilderedly at the pile of files on the floor and murmured quietly, “I don’t understand how this went so wrong.” He looked up at Darren and said earnestly, “You were never supposed to be able to tell the difference. This should have seemed like your reality. I don’t understand what went wrong!”

Darren dropped into the chair in the room, exhausted. “Hunter,” he pleaded, “please, just tell me how I got here. And why. And where Blaine is.”

Hunter looked like he was going to put up an argument. “I’m not supposed to give out that information,” he objected. 

Darren glared. “You lost the right to keep things from we when you kidnapped me to another dimension, Hunter!”

Hunter’s gaze was bewildered. “I don’t understand how you know that.”

Darren rolled his eyes. “Because where I come from, Blaine is a fictitious character? On a television show?”

That threw Hunter off. He just stared at Darren in disbelief. “Blaine is a television character?”

Apparently the whole situation made about as much sense to Hunter as it did to Darren. Darren nodded. “You all are. The Warbler’s? This whole school? They only exist as the creation of a group of writers for a television show called Glee about a show choir.”

Hunter still looked completely lost. “We…there’s a television show about us?”

Darren shook his head. “The television show is about the New Directions. The Glee club at McKinley? Kurt’s old school? The Warbler’s have only shown up in a few episodes.”

“The show is about  _McKinley_?" 

Darren almost laughed. Hunter sounded offended by the idea. He nodded.

"Yeah. The Warbler’s have only been in a few episodes. The only reason they were on the show in the first place is because Kurt went to spy on them for his Glee Club before Sectionals and met Blaine, who became his mentor and later boyfriend. But Blaine eventually left Dalton for McKinley when Kurt went back to his old school.”

Hunter looked immediately alarmed. “Kurt went back? Kurt can’t go back! It’s not safe for him there. Why would Kurt go back?”

“Because Karofsky stops being a threat.” Darren explained.

Hunter looked confused. “Karofsky? Karofsky was never a threat. I mean, yeah, he shouldn’t have kissed Kurt, but that wasn’t a threat. That was bad judgment on his part when he was totally overwhelmed. But Kurt wasn’t afraid of him.”

That confirmed that things had gone differently here. Darren asked, “then why did Kurt come here?”

Hunter looked uncomfortable. “Blaine…it’s not really my story to tell.”

Darren shook his head. “You lost the right to keep things from me when you dropped me here. You  _owe it to me_  to explain. Plus, you brought me here for a reason, I’m assuming? Maybe I can help.”

Hunter looked thoughtful. “I…you may be right. I need to know where I went wrong with this switch as well. I’ll tell you what you want to know if you answer my questions?”

Darren nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I’ll tell you what happened on Glee. Tell me what happened to Kurt!”


	38. Chapter 38

Hunter sighed. He shifted uneasily on the bed. “Blaine…it isn’t really that simple. I…I don’t know. Maybe I should start at the beginning?”  
  
“That would seem like a rational place to start,” Darren agreed noncommittally. “You’re not just a normal high school student. Who are you?”  
  
Hunter shrugged. “I am a normal high school student,” he corrected. “I just have another job as well. I’m…well, I guess you could call me a Fixer?”  
  
Darren raised an eyebrow. “A  _Fixer?_  Hunter, I’m pretty sure everything has gone to  _hell_ around here.”  
  
The other boy nodded slowly. “You’re…not wrong. But they didn’t tell me what I was getting myself into! They stuck me here without proper warning or briefing or backup, and expected me to singlehandedly bring the Warbler’s to victory. I thought they just needed direction. I didn’t realize they all needed  _psychiatric help_!” Hunter’s voice was rising in frustration.  
  
Darren was getting more confused by the moment. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply for a minute. Opening his eyes, he focused in on Hunter. “Okay, this is just confusing me more. Explain to me why you’re at Dalton. On Glee, they sent Hunter in during the forth season to be Captain and take the Warbler’s to Nationals.”  
  
Hunter looked confused. “They made me Captain? I can’t concentrate on fixing everything and be in charge of the whole group as far as songs and choreography go. Did we win?” Darren shook his head. “No, you made them all take steroids and it got out and you were disqualified and New Directions moved forward.”  
  
Hunter looked horrified. “ _Steroids_? Steroids are dangerous. And illegal. Also, the New Direction’s are a mess.They won’t win. And I would never do that. Why would we need steroids?”  
  
“Probably because it was the only way New Directions would beat you?” Darren suggested. “So…you aren’t secretly hiding steroids then?”  
  
Hunter glared at him. “Have you seen the Warbler’s? You don’t think they have enough issues without adding drugs to the mix?”  
  
“I’m just telling you what it was like in my world,” Darren responded mildly.  
  
Hunter started rubbing his temples. He looked pained. “That wasn’t in the list of prerequisites. There had to be a more similar Parallel. Why choose yours?”  
  
Darren sympathized. He was getting a headache of his own. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
  
Hunter shook his head. “It’s…complicated. It’s part of the story, but I should probably explain  _here_  first before I get to  _there_?”  
  
Darren rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Hunter. Just explain.”  
  
Hunter traced the pattern on the bedspread. His voice was hesitant as he continued. “This…this isn’t information that can get out, Blaine. What I am and why I’m here has to remain confidential.”  
  
“Who am I going to tell?” Darren asked flatly. “What, am I going to go up to the Warbler’s and complain that you kidnapped me from my universe and dropped me in a fictional one?”  
  
“Good point,” Hunter acknowledged. “So, I told you I’m a Fixer. Which pretty much explains why I’m here. There’s a certain group of people who can be hired to…deal with issues…if you’re rich enough, or powerful enough, to afford us. Most people do not know of our existence, at least as anything other than rumors. We have certain…skill sets that set us apart and make us more useful for understanding people and situations.”  
  
Darren stared at him. “So, what? You’re telling me I was carried over into a universe with  _superheroes_?”  
  
Hunter rolled his eyes at him. “Yes, Blaine, I’m a  _superhero_. No, you idiot. We don’t have superpowers. We were born with certain genetic…abnormalities that give us insight into people that most normal people don’t have.”  
  
“So you’re what? Psychic?” Darren asked.  
  
Hunter shook his head. “Psychics don’t exist. At least not to my knowledge. I can’t read people’s minds. I can’t bend spoons. That’s ridiculous. I’m just…good at deciphering emotions. Really good.”  
  
Darren thought back to Hunter’s reaction to finding him sitting angry and afraid in the middle of the files, holding Blaine’s note. Hunter’s response had been to freak out almost as much as Darren. “You’re….empathic, then, aren’t you?” Darren guessed.  
  
Hunter shrugged. “I guess that’s as good a word as any? It isn’t exactly that either. It’s…hard to explain. Do you know what Synesthesia is?” he suddenly asked.  
  
Darren blinked, startled by the change in topic. “It’s a medical condition, right? Where people’s brain’s interpret things differently? They can smell colors or words have musical tones, or things like that?”  
  
Hunter nodded. “That’s as good a definition as any I guess. We’re starting to think that Synesthesia is actually a low level variety of the abilities we have. Subtle enough so most people who have it don’t realize it’s significance. But there’s a few ‘lucky’ ones,” -and Hunter’s voice took on a slightly bitter tone at 'lucky’ -“who have a kind of Synesthesia dialed up to like, level 1000. We can see people’s auras.”  
  
Darren blinked. “I’m sorry…what?”  
  
“Their…aura’s?” Hunter said. “It’s like everyone has a field around them. A mostly see-through watercolorish aura of light and color that surrounds them. Everyone has their own unique color. Depending on their mood, the hue can change. Colors get lighter or darker. The texture changes. Patterns come up in it. It kind of…twirls around and floats around them like mist?”  
  
Darren just stared blankly at him. Hunter was seeing people’s auras. Okay….well, Darren supposed it didn’t seem any more or less crazy than anything else so far. “So…you see people’s…feelings?” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” Hunter agreed. “I can see how they’re feeling by the color and pattern. I know when people are happy, or sad, or angry. It helps in my line of work to know how people are feeling when they aren’t willing to tell you. But…it’s not a magic fix for everything. I can only see _how_  they’re feeling. Not why. I can’t read their minds. I don’t know  _why_ they’re angry or sad or hopeless. Just that they  _are_.”  
  
“You seemed to more than sense my emotions when you came in,” Darren observed. “You seemed overwhelmed by them.”  
  
“You’re right, I was.” Hunter admitted. “The thing is, those of us who can sense other’s so strongly? It’s easy for other’s emotions to mix with our own. Aura’s can actually be drawn to surrounding ones. It’s like the mist around me and the mist around them reaches out and floats into each other and I can suddenly feel everything they’re feeling. I can usually build up walls and keep my own aura stationary and compartmentalize other people’s feelings with enough warning. But if I’m suddenly hit by someone with extreme emotions without adequate warning, I can’t hold it off, and what you just saw happens.”  
  
Darren was having a hard time taking this in. It sounded decidedly like something out of science fiction. Or fantasy. Or fanfiction. “So….they hired you because you can read people’s feelings?” he asked, just to be clear.  
  
Hunter nodded. “This is my first assignment. It was supposed to be easy! The higher ups at Dalton were concerned that things were off with their Glee club. They take pride in having every club and sport and activity excel. And there’s a lot of very important and very affluent people who have children in Dalton. They wanted to know that their children were getting the best education possible. So they sent me in to make sure the Warbler’s stayed on task. It’s like, a basement level assignment. It should have been the simplest thing in the world. Go in, figure out where the problems were, fix them, move on. But someone didn’t do their homework. Because practically every one of these kids is a tragedy just waiting to happen, and I can’t fix all of them!”  
  
Hunter was getting agitated again. Darren could understand where he was coming from. These boys were carrying a lot of heavy issues. For Hunter to have been sent into the middle of them blindly would have been worrisome. Darren understood how that felt all too well. Quietly, he asked, “and me, Hunter? Why am I here?”  
  
Hunter tore himself away from his internal rising panic and glanced over at Darren. “Because  _you_  would have been the catalyst,” he said regretfully. “You wouldn’t have made it through the weekend, and I would have lost them all. I just needed  _time_. If I could get Blaine to Monday, there would be hope. But at the rate he was fading, he wouldn’t have made it. When I saw him return Thursday night, his aura was so black it was almost physically weighing him down. You have to understand,” he pleaded desperately, “I didn’t have a choice! He wouldn’t survive until Monday! I was so close. Hope was so close! And he would have killed himself before we could do anything!” Hunter was nearly crying by the end.   
  
Darren found himself in the strange position of having the console the boy who was solely responsible for his own predicament. He tried to keep his own emotions held tightly reigned in. He hoped they weren’t seeping toward’s Hunter. “Hey,” he said quietly. “I can see you were trying to help. Just…I don’t understand? How could three extra days make a difference?”  
  
Hunter raised reddened eyes toward him. “Because of  _Kurt_ ,” he said softly. “Because the answer was always  _Kurt_.”


	39. Chapter 39

Darren stared blankly at Hunter. “Because of Kurt?’ What did Kurt have to do with Blaine intending to commit suicide or not? Blaine didn’t even  _know_  Kurt here.  
  
Hunter nodded. "It wouldn’t fix everything, of course,” he admitted quietly, “but it would have given us time to help him.”  
  
Darren was really sick of feeling like Alice looking through the looking glass only to find that he was the only one who seemed to realize that the logic these people followed didn’t make any sense at  _all_. He fixed his attention on Hunter and demanded, “why would Kurt make a difference?”  
  
Hunter gestured at Darren and made a sweeping hand motion around the room. “Because even now you’re merging.”  
  
Darren glanced around the room, half expecting monsters to fall from the ceiling or something. His frustration level was rising.  
  
Hunter cocked his head to the side and stated, “You’re…angry?”  
  
Darren rolled his eyes. “I’m  _frustrated_ , Hunter,” he stated. “You’re not making any sense at all and you aren’t giving me any real answers. You’re just making me more confused!”  
  
Hunter reached out a hand and ran it through the air as if he was following an invisible line. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Sometimes I forget you can’t see what I see. You’re merging with Kurt.”  
  
Darren pushed down the impulse to shake the younger boy. “Hunter, what does that  _mean_?”  
  
Hunter’s tone was almost reverent as he gestured towards something invisible again. “You’re Twinsouls.”  
  
Oh, well then. That cleared up nothing. “I don’t know what that  _means_ , Hunter,” Darren stated, willing his patience to continue long enough to get through this insane conversation.  
  
Hunter gestured towards the nothingness in the room again. “You’re a perfect match,” he explained. “Aura’s have a certain play in compatibility between people. People are naturally drawn to similar auras. Colors or textures that are similar to their own. Colors that complement each other. When you’re near someone who correlates with your aura, the aura’s naturally become activated and can interact with each other. It’s like a natural endorphin high. People feel more content, at ease. But there are very rare occurrences where aura’s aren’t just compatible, they’re identical. Twinsouls.”  
  
Darren stared at him. “You’re telling me Kurt and Blaine are actually  _soulmates_?”  
  
Hunter tilted his head. He looked thoughtful. “I don’t know if I’ve really heard it referred to in those terms, but sort of?”  
  
Darren needed to sit down. He collapsed on the bed, staring at Hunter in disbelief. “You’re telling me  _Klaine_  are s _oulmates_?”  
  
Hunter watched him with concern. “Are you all right? You’re aura is turning an alarming shade of borderline hysteria.”  
  
Darren helplessly stared at Hunter. “You’re…no. This is ridiculous. Are you saying my aura matches too?”  
  
Hunter looked bewildered. “Of course. You are him, Blaine. Just from a parallel Worldspace.”  
  
Darren shook his head. “That’s impossible. I’m not Blaine. My name is not even Blaine. My name is Darren. Blaine does  _not exist_. And I can’t be soulmates with Kurt, I’m not gay.”  
  
Hunter shrugged. “What’s that got to do with anything? Aura’s aren’t sexual in nature. They’re just a…reflection of a person. You don’t need to be attracted to a person to be a Twinsoul. You just have to have the same aural makeup on a micron level.” He sounded awed. “There’s less than 80 Twinsouls known in the world. You’re connection to Kurt is one of the rarest things on the planet. You don’t just  _activate_  each other’s auras, they  _meld_.”  
  
Darren wondered when science lessons from 18 year olds in Crazyland became the norm. “You’re saying Kurt and I are, what, sharing auras?”  
  
Hunter nodded enthusiastically. “That’s actually a really good description. It’s like they send out strands and tendrils and mist and they float around each other and combine and separate and perform this kind of intricate dance. It’s kind of breathtaking.” He stared into the room.  
  
Darren eyed him. “Kurt isn’t in the room Hunter. Why is my aura playing with his?”  
  
Hunter pulled his eyes away from the empty space with noticeable effort. “Because once you actually met, your auras started seeking each other out. They want to merge. They recognize they are one and the same and there’s a natural pull towards each other, even across distances.”  
  
So his aura was floating around Dalton seeking out his costars doppelganger. Sure, why not? Why  _wouldn’t_  that be as logical as anything else that had happened so far? He rubbed his head, tension headache floating at the back of his mind. “So, what? You’re saying I just had to meet Kurt and we’d what? Fall madly in love and heal each other and live happily ever after?”  
  
The look Hunter shot in his direction was equal parts amusement and exasperation. “Yes, Blaine, that’s exactly how it works. Two severely troubled students, one of whom is right on the edge of a suicide attempt and the other who is trying to deal with his own trauma are going to meet and fancy lights are going to flicker around both of them and they’re going to forget all their problems and live happily ever after.”  
  
He didn’t need to be so _condescending_. Darren caught a glimpse of Glee’s Hunter in that moment. He glared at him. “You just informed me that everyone has an aura and there are such things as soulmates. Excuse me for wondering where this story was heading.”  
  
Hunter sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I have no reason to assume you would understand any of this. Kurt showing up here was a one in a million chance. Twinsouls are rare enough, and many never actually find each other without outside sources actively seeking matches. So I couldn’t believe it when Kurt showed up at Dalton last week when I had to show him around and it was like I already  _knew_  him because I had already felt his aura. In Blaine. It would have been an amazing discovery for us all on it’s own. But Blaine wasn’t there. I couldn’t do an official comparison because Blaine was already gone after he had collapsed. So it wasn’t until he got back that I could do a mental comparison. And I knew I was right. But Blaine was so far gone when he got back. I don’t know  _what_  happened when he was gone or  _why_  he came back so soon, but there’s no way he was ready. I could feel the despair and hopelessness. It was terrifying. But I couldn’t get anyone to listen. His father has enough influence I guess to keep him there, despite my warnings. I could tell he was in crisis, and when I went that night to check on him, I found the note. I knew Kurt would be coming, and his presence would be enough to keep the darkness at bay long enough to look into options for Blaine. But Kurt wasn’t coming for a couple days, and Blaine wasn’t going to last that long….so I Altered him.”  
  
“Altered him?” Darren asked. “What the hell does that mean?”  
  
Hunter looked sheepish. “It means I transferred him with you.”  
  
And…that’s what panic felt like. “You transferred a suicidal teenager into my life?” Darren asked, horrified.   
  
Hunter shook his head quickly. “No, no. Well, yes, technically. But he’s in stasis. It will affect your whole world. It’s in effect in standby mode for you.”  
  
Darren stared at him. “You  _froze_  my world. And sent me here. Oh my God.  _Who are you_?”  
  
Hunter shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, well…desperate times and all that. That’s…not as important right now, anyway. What’s important is that you’re here and you can meld with Kurt and when you get sent back and Blaine is returned the connection will already be there and we can hopefully keep him stable and safe enough for long enough to get an order to override his father and get him help.”  
  
The only thing Darren found remotely reassuring in that entire conversation was the fact that Hunter had mentioned he would go back and Blaine would return to where he belonged. Darren shook his head. “Hunter…you realize this sounds crazy.”  
  
“Only to you,” Hunter responded. “Blaine-”  
  
“Darren,” Darren interrupted. “My name is not Blaine.”  
  
“Darren, then,” Hunter acknowledged. “I am sorry you ended up in the middle of this. I’m sorry you even  _knew_  it was happening. I still don’t understand what went wrong there. But I literally couldn’t find another choice. If Blaine had killed himself this weekend it would have destroyed not only him, but all of them.”  
  
Darren could actually see the truth in that, from his dealings with them over the weekend himself. “Because they’re all…hurt, in one way or another, aren’t they?” Darren asked quietly.   
  
Hunter nodded. “You have no idea. They sent me here for what should have been an easy assignment. But…these kids have so much stress and so much expectation placed on them, they’re all cracking under the pressure. And I can only do so much. I can only _see_  so much.”  
  
“You didn’t know Blaine wasn’t eating?” Darren asked. It seemed weird that with all Hunter’s insight, it had still gotten to the point where Blaine collapsed before his problem became evident.  
  
“I only sense emotions,” Hunter responded quietly. “I knew Blaine was troubled, but I didn’t know the extent of it. And he wasn’t this bad before he was sent away. He was depressed, and I was definitely worried, but it was nothing like this. And…hunger isn’t an emotion, Darren, it’s a sensation. I didn’t know he hadn’t been eating because I couldn’t feel it. I was as surprised as the rest of them when he collapsed.”  
  
He supposed he couldn’t fault Hunter for that. “And the rest of them?” he asked.  
  
Hunter looked troubled. “I knew Jeff was slipping, but I didn’t realize he was cutting again until I walked in on the three of you in his room and the cuts were visible. Again, pain is a sensation, not an emotion. Nick’s worrying himself sick about Jeff. Sebastian is having his own issues relating to his past and recent events. Which weren’t in his file and I had to actually pry out of him. There’s a lot in the files to work with, but if the boys have kept their secrets hidden well enough, I have no way of knowing. I can feel if something’s bothering them, but that doesn’t tell my  _why_.”  
  
Darren nodded. “There do seem to be a lot of….problems,” he ventured.  
  
Hunter sighed. “Trent’s actually not doing too bad. He cares too much and is worrying himself sick about everyone else, but he’s okay, mostly. David is having problems at home and having trouble keeping a lid on his temper because he’s so frustrated all the time. Thad’s okay emotionally, but physically, he keeps getting migraine’s that are wearing him down. I can’t feel the headache, just the fuzziness in his emotions that comes from it.”  
  
Those were problems Darren hadn’t even been aware of. He marveled that Hunter had managed to keep them from falling completely apart yet. He couldn’t even imagine trying to deal with all of that on his own. He quickly ran through the remaining Warbler’s in his head. “And Wes?”  
  
Hunter hesitated. Darren raised an eyebrow. “What?”  
  
“Wes is under a lot of pressure from his parents to excel. At everything. He’s co-council on the Warbler’s, head of about 4 different clubs and teams, and they expect him to be the class Valedictorian. He won’t be able to handle their disappointment if he doesn’t measure up. He’s abusing prescription medications to try and stay awake and focused and alert. If they ever had a reason to drug test anyone here, he would lose everything. And I don’t know what to do about it.”  
  
Darren sighed. Things were such a mess. There was so much that needed to be done, and he didn’t have any more of a clue than Hunter did how to fix any of it. Clearly he would have to come up with something. They couldn’t continue this way. “And Kurt?” he asked quietly.  
  
Hunter’s expression darkened. “Blaine’s not the only one who needs the relief from the connection, Darren,” he explained. “Kurt’s hurting more than he’s probably willing to let on.” He glanced at the stack of files on the floor and picked one up. “Tell me what happened to your Kurt,” he asked, “and I’ll tell you what I know about ours.”


	40. Chapter 40

The further into the synopsis of Kurt’s life on Glee Darren got, the more troubled Hunter’s expression became. Darren quickly went through the seasons. Kurt’s inability to truly connect with his fellow male club members, the joking and dismissive attitude at his expense and the suggestion that he go spy on the Warblers. Teenage Dream. Meeting Blaine. Karofsky’s harassment. The kiss. The threats. The necessity to transfer to Dalton. The return to McKinley, Blaine eventually following after him. All the way down to Karofsky’s suicide attempt, and beyond.   
  
Hunter looked like he wanted to interrupt more and more the longer Darren spoke. But he kept quiet until Darren finished. “That’s all wrong,” he murmured quietly when Darren ceased talking, “the way it happened…it’s just all wrong!”  
  
Darren raised an eyebrow at him. “Hunter…everything is different here. Why shouldn’t that all be changed too?”  
  
Hunter shook his head. “That’s just the point! The more you tell me, the worse the divergence in the timelines is. I don’t understand why!”  
  
“Explain,” Darren demanded. “You’re saying things should have been the same? How do you even pick a world to swap from?” _God. When did sentences like that become a normal part of his life?_  
  
“We send out Seekers,” Hunter explained. “They’re like….search engines maybe? We enter in the data we want them to seek a match for, and they search through the different Worldspaces and find the closest match they can, and make the switch from that world.”  
  
“Your  _Seekers_  seem to have failed,” Darren observed dryly.  
  
Hunter tapped nervously on the stacks of files in front of him. “I don’t understand  _why_. We put as much information as we knew in. Sure, a lot of what happened with Kurt is something I only found out  _after_  we made the switch, but there was enough there that the basic information should not be that different. I mean, typically the Seekers would be reading documentation about a person available out in your World, birth certificates, licenses, news reports, school information, social media sites, anywhere the people involved were mentioned. The Seekers aren’t intelligent, they’re basically just computer programs. But they shouldn’t be malfunctioning to the point where they would just pull out  _wrong_  information, even if they didn’t realize they were reading a script, not real information.”  
  
Darren’s head jerked up. “They were reading the scripts?”  
  
Hunter nodded. “Yeah? They would have taken that as fact. But you’re telling me the scripts are nothing like what’s here. I don’t understand it.”  
  
“So…” Darren trailed off. “Theoretically, if there was more out there in written form than  _just_  the scripts? Other conflicting written information?”  
  
Hunter looked thoughtful. “They aren’t looking for things that  _don’t_  match. Just corresponding information. They would pull out anything anywhere that was a match. Why?”  
  
Darren looked a little ill. “So, if these Seekers found matching information online somewhere other than the scripts, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference?”  
  
Hunter shook his head. “No? I don’t see what you’re trying to say though, Blaine.”  
  
“Darren,” Darren murmured distractedly. “So, if there were stories out there that weren’t officially part of the Glee canon, your search bots or whatever couldn’t tell the difference?”  
  
“No….” Hunter cocked his head to the side and blinked at Darren. “Where are you going with this?”  
  
Darren felt hysteria creeping on the edges of his mind. He noticed Hunter flinch out of the corner of his eye. He tried to push it back down. “Hunter. Have you ever heard of fanfiction?”  
  
Hunter’s eyes widened in understanding. “Of course,” he breathed. “Yes. Yes! The seekers would pull out all information from any written work out there seeking matches. The information wouldn’t even have to be from the  _same_  story. You’re saying Glee has a large fan base?”  
  
Darren laughed. The edge of hysteria was rising again. “Hunter. There are  _thousands_  of stories. A lot of which have Blaine in them. There may be  _hundreds of thousand_ s. Oh My God. Your Seekers went through and pulled out facts from every angsty fanfiction out there and came to the conclusion I was almost identical to your Blaine!”  
  
Hunter pulled out a sheet of paper and started scribbling furiously. “This has never happened before! Of course, I didn’t anticipate the possibility that our universe could be _fictional_  in another one. We’re going to need to add guidelines to avoid this in the future.” He bent over the paper, hands writing rapidly.  
  
Darren blinked at him. “Hunter. Hunter! Focus.” He rolled his eyes. He just got dumped into a  _fanfiction universe_ , and Hunter’s response was to  _take notes_. He stared at him. “I suppose I should just be thankful none of you are pregnant,” he muttered.  
  
Hunter stared in shock. “Boys can get pregnant where you come from?” he asked, bewildered. Darren just shook his head and sighed. “No, Hunter. Forget it. It’s a fanfiction thing.” He shrugged. “I suppose that explains a lot. It doesn’t tell me what happened  _here_  though.” He stared pointedly at Hunter. “You told me you would explain what happened with Kurt here. So explain!” he demanded folding his arms and glaring at the other boy.  
  
Hunter nodded reluctantly. “I suppose I owe you that much,” he admitted. He trailed off, muttering under his breath about changes needed to protocol and procedure.   
  
Darren snapped his fingers in front of Hunter’s face. “Hunter! Now!”  
  
Hunter’s focus snapped back to Darren. “Sorry, sorry. There’s so much that just went wrong that needs to be dealt with.” He picked up Kurt’s file and leafed through it. “You understand, a lot of this is coming third hand to me. The file is actually pretty limited. Kurt just got here. And I don’t think the school’s know most of the story. This is coming from Sebastian, who heard it Karofsky, who was there for a lot of it.”  
  
Darren closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache starting up. “Karofsky?” he asked.  
  
Hunter nodded. “That’s where Sebastian and I were when I had you show Kurt around.”  
  
Darren shook his head. “I don’t understand.”  
  
Hunter looked uncomfortable. “Well….a lot of the details are different, but there’s a couple of big things that stayed the same in both worlds…”  
  
Darren glared at him. “Just spit it out, Hunter!”  
  
“Karofsky’s in the hospital. That’s where we were. He still attempted suicide. Sebastian and I went to see him. Sebastian’s feeling…guilty.”  
  
Well, that was unexpected. And happened much sooner than Darren would have expected. He really needed the full story of what happened here. “Hunter….tell me what happened. From the beginning. Including why  _Sebastian_  knows Karofsky and why he would feel guilty.” Darren wondered how different things had gotten. If it happened so _soon_  after Kurt’s transfer, Karofsky wouldn’t have had time to redeem himself. And if he was still an abusive creep, why would Sebastian feel guilty? And what would drive Karofsky to try to kill himself? He was so confused.  
  
Apparently, so was Hunter. “I’m not sure where the beginning is, Darren. I’m not sure where the differences led to this conclusion.”  
  
Well, he got his name right at least. There was progress. “I don’t know either, Hunter. But you know what went on more than I do!”  
  
Hunter stared off into space for a few minutes. Darren watched his eyes focus on something unseen and follow something only he could see.  _Auras. This place was ridiculous._  
  
Hunter shrugged finally. “I don’t know. Maybe it started with the kiss?” he suggested.  
  
So there had been a kiss. “Karofsky kissed Kurt here too?” he asked, angry. “He tormented him in this universe too?”  
  
Hunter shook his head. “No, actually. I mean, granted it’s coming from Karofsky, so maybe he’s downplaying things, but it didn’t sound like it was that first kiss that freaked Kurt out, it was what happened  _after_  with Karofsky’s friend.”  
  
Darren stared blankly at him. “What?”  
  
“Azimio?” Hunter sounded unsure. “Something like that? Karofsky’s best friend? Well, former at this point I suppose. The guys a nutcase. I can’t imagine Karofsky still considers him a friend after what happened…”  
  
“Azimio?” Darren vaguely remembered the name. He wasn’t even sure if he could put a face to it. “I don’t understand, Hunter.  _Azimio_  hurt Kurt, not Karofsky?”  
  
“Well, I doubt Kurt was thrilled about the kiss,” Hunter acknowledged, “but I don’t think it traumatized him or anything. I think Karofsky actually reacted worse. Idiot.”  
  
Darren kind of wished he had been taking notes too. “Hunter. Tell me what happened from the kiss on. In detail. Without getting sidetracked. Please.”  
  
Hunter shrugged. “Karofsky was closeted. And had a crush on Kurt. And was too shy to say anything. He…it wasn’t like in Glee, Darren, from the sounds of it. He hadn’t tormented Kurt beforehand. I think he was actually more…I don’t know, concerned for him? He would make sure the other jocks didn’t hurt him too badly or ruin his clothes or things like that.”   
  
“Like Finn,” Darren murmured.   
  
Hunter shrugged. “I don’t know a Finn. Anyway, he apparently got overwhelmed or something in the locker room one day when he thought they were alone and Kurt had confronted him over hiding who he really was or something, I don’t even know how Kurt knew. Sebastian didn’t tell me that part. But he kissed him. And in a case of the worst timing on the planet, Azimio walked in at the same exact time.”  
  
Karofsky’s friend. Who probably didn’t know Karofsky was gay. And probably wouldn’t have been happy about it, if Darren had to guess.  _Great._  
  
“Karofsky freaked out,” Hunter continued, “He panicked. He pushed away from Kurt and tried to blame the kiss on him. Said Kurt had come on to him and then just…bailed out as fast as he could. Azimio took Karofsky’s word for it and started a….I don’t know. From the way Sebastian described it, it was basically a reign of terror against Kurt. Threatening him. Calling him names. Telling him to stay away from Karofsky. And Karofsky was too scared to say anything about what really happened. Things apparently…escalated. Kurt got hurt. And things just…went downhill from there. Karofsky ended up in the hospital. Kurt ended up here. And Azimio may be prosecuted.”  
  
Darren’s heart was in his throat. “Hunter….what happened to Kurt? What did Azimio  _do_ to him?”


	41. Chapter 41

Hunter looked conflicted. “Blaine…this isn’t really my story to be spilling. What Azimio did to Kurt…it’s…it wasn’t pleasant. And the only reason I know is because Karofsky stopped it. And he’s so shaken up he’s probably telling Sebastian more than he would have if he was thinking properly.”  
  
Darren shook his head and said quietly, “Hunter, you brought me here so Blaine could help Kurt, and Kurt could help Blaine. I can’t help Kurt fully if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.”  
  
“I brought you here because your  _presence_ would help Kurt, not your conversation,” Hunter corrected him. “It doesn’t feel right.”  
  
Darren sighed, tried to figure out how to explain how he was feeling to Hunter. It was such a weird situation. He gave it an attempt. “Hunter. The connection between Kurt and Blaine, even between Chris and I, back home? It’s…something more than just physical. It’s a connection at an emotional level that’s…different than I’ve ever experienced before. I’m assuming that’s the….bond our aura’s have, mixing our feelings or whatever?” he asked, for clarification.  
  
Hunter nodded. “Emotional transference,” he replied. “Similar to what happens to me, but with me it’s one way. You guys respond to each other.”  
  
“I don’t think I can feel him as strongly as I can feel Chris,” he mused, “but I do feel the same kind of protectiveness towards him. And I want to help him. But I’m assuming you aren’t planning on keeping me here indefinitely…” he trailed off. “At least, I’m _hoping_  you aren’t. I need to go home, Hunter.”  
  
“There’s a failsafe,” Hunter murmured. “After a week. You would automatically be sent back anyway. If we didn’t do it manually before then.”  
  
Darren breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. But…that means my time is limited, Hunter. Blaine and Kurt need to be close enough by the time I leave that Kurt will have formed enough of an attachment that they can both be there for each other when we switch back. Blaine’s going to need him as much as Kurt needs Blaine. Possibly more.”  
  
Hunter nodded slowly. “You’re probably right,” he agreed reluctantly. “And it isn’t like there’s an awful lot of people you can go spreading it to. You could tell your whole world, and it wouldn’t make a difference here.” He sighed and settled down on the bed. “Sebastian can’t know I told you this. I think he feels guilty he told _me_  as much as he did once he got back and actually  _saw_  Kurt sitting there at the table. He’ll feel like I broke both his and Kurt’s trust if he knows I told you.”  
  
“I promise, they won’t know you told me,” Darren vowed. “Sebastian seems to trust you. I wouldn’t let him think that trust was misguided. You wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t necessary.”  
  
“It’s important I keep Sebastian’s trust,” Hunter confirmed quietly. “He’s…he doesn’t give it easily. He’s  _confusing_ ,” Hunter finished almost silently, at this point talking mostly to himself.  
  
Darren raised an eyebrow. Well, there was one more oddity to add to the collection. He half wanted to push, but Sebastian seemed safe enough at the moment, and wasn’t really his to fix the way Kurt seemed to be. “What happened to Kurt, Hunter?” Darren tried asking again.  
  
“I’m not 100 percent sure,” Hunter explained. “I can only tell you what Sebastian said Karofsky told him he walked in on, and what Kurt told him after.”  
  
“Which was?” Darren asked nervously.  
  
“That Karofsky returned to the locker room after gym one day because he forgot something, and walked in on Kurt and Azimio.” Hunter sounded half regretful and half furious.  
  
“What was Azimio doing?” Darren asked softly, heart in his throat.  
  
“According to Karofsky,” Hunter said quietly, “he had Kurt backed up against a wall and was pressed up against him so he couldn’t move. He had one hand over his mouth so he couldn’t scream and the other one down the front of his pants.” Hunter looked decidedly ill.  
  
Darren felt his hands clench into fists. He tried to focus on his breathing, as his vision became hazy and red-tinged, fury threatening to take over.  
  
Hunter squeaked softly, and threw himself backwards on the bed, watching cautiously with huge eyes as he backed against the headboard and curled up there, hands out protectively in front of him.  
  
Darren winced, tried to gain control of himself. He was just so  _angry_  at the thought. The visual kept playing itself out in technicolor in his mind,  _his_  Kurt’s ( _Chris’, God_ ) face frozen in terror. He’s safe, he reminded himself forcefully. _Chris_  is safe.  _His_  Kurt is safe.  _This_ Kurt is, although obviously not okay, also safe.  _This_  Kurt could get help.  _Would_  get help. He took in steady breaths for several minutes, just trying to calm himself. He glanced over at Hunter, wincing as he watched the other boy clearly try to get a hold on his own emotions and separate them from Darren’s. “Sorry.”  
  
Hunter nodded shakily. “I wish you would stop _feeling_  so much,” he admitted. “Being around you is like hovering at the edge of a volcano that’s sending up smoke and ash, and you know the eruption is imminent, but you just aren’t sure when.”  
  
“Well, forgive me if I’m a little emotional,” Darren growled, “but my presence here is your fault, Hunter.”  
  
“I know,” Hunter sighed, climbing back to the end of the bed and rubbing his temples. “God, I’m going to get in so much trouble for this.”  
  
Darren stared at him. “What?”  
  
Hunter glanced wryly at him. “You didn’t think they would actually authorize me to pull someone from another Worldspace for a high school Glee competition, did you Darren?”


End file.
